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      Belgian MVNO for First Responders Adds Unlimited Calls, New Data Plans

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      Belgian MVNO for First Responders Adds Unlimited Calls, New Data Plans

      Blue Light Mobile, the Belgian mobile service for first responders and security services, announced new price plans beginning 1 June. These include unlimited calls to Belgian fixed and mobile lines and improved data bundles. 

      Plans start at €6.00 (US $6.69) per month for unlimited calls and 8 GB of data, excluding VAT, and go up to €122.00 (US $136.10) for unlimited calls and 120 GB. Additional data is charged at a rate of €0.15 (US $0.17) per MB, and each SIM has an activation fee of €10.00 (US $11.16). Voice-only costs €2.00 (US $2.23) per month, while data-only packs start at €2.00 for 400 MB. SMS is included in all plans. 

      Blue Light Mobile users receive priority on the Proximus network, as well as automatic fallback to the Orange or Base networks. Roaming packages are also available for subscribers. 

      Tarifica’s Take

      Blue Light Mobile, launched in 2014, is an unusual MVNO that is accessible only to emergency and security personnel in Belgium. It is provided by ASTRID, an operator of radio, paging and dispatching networks that exclusively serves the first responder community in that country. Originally on 3G, Blue Light now operates on 4G/LTE networks. One feature that is particularly characteristic of this MVNO is that its SIMs operate on three networks, Proximus, Orange and Base, with Proximus prioritized.

      With its new plans, Blue Light Mobile is offering Belgian emergency workers a broad range of options for voice, data and SMS at various price points. In their diversity and flexibility, the offerings resemble a suite of consumer plans, indicating that with the ubiquity of mobile devices and the overlap between work and personal life, emergency workers’ needs are merely a heightened version of the needs of ordinary users. Furthermore, the BYOD revolution clearly extends to the first-responder community, so that these workers are using their devices and Blue Light Mobile SIMs for purposes that go beyond simply getting communications about emergencies.

      From 8 MB to 120 MB, every level of user should find something in these plans to fit his or her needs. The voice-only and data-only options add to the flexibility of Blue Light’s offerings.