German operator Deutsche Telekom announced the launch of a new MVNO co-branded with the football team FC Bayern. FCB Mobile will offer prepaid and postpaid plans delivered through the club’s fan shops and Telekom shops and online. The prepaid starter kit costs €9.95 (US $11.43) for the same amount of credit, 500 MB data at up to 50 Mbps over the 4G network and a rate of €0.09 (US $0.10) per minute or SMS. Postpaid plans start at €29.95 (US $34.40) for 1 GB at up to 150 Mbps and unlimited calls and SMS. Plans can also be purchased with smartphones. The plans also come with the chance to participate in competitions to win tickets to matches, free phone credit when the team wins matches, audio streams of match press conferences, vouchers to the fan club and access to team ringtones.

Tarifica’s Take

Having a strongly defined target audience, even if it is a small or localized one, is generally speaking a good formula for an MVNO. Co-branding with an entity that brings such a niche clientele to the table is therefore advantageous. Deutsche Telekom, in bringing an MVNO to market, has availed itself of both options by choosing the popular Munich-based football team as a partner. By tying credit to team victories, making it possible to buy plans at fan shops, and holding competitions—and, of course, by making the plans affordable—DT is taking advantage of fan psychology in a way that promises a good start for this new MVNO.