Dutch operator Kabelnoord will be raising its prices in January 2023 to make up for the higher costs of materials, energy, equipment and payments to television channels. This change comes in the wake of price hikes earlier this year from two other major operators in the Netherlands, Ziggo and KPN.

Meanwhile, in Spain, new MVNO Tres Telecom has announced its inaugural tariff portfolio of low-cost mobile, fiber and convergent plans. As a self-described “non-profit operator,” Tres requires customers to pay a monthly membership fee of EUR 3.00 (US $3.11) in exchange for what it claims are “at cost” rates.

Tarifica’s Take

Higher prices are a familiar feature of the global economic crisis. Although larger companies may be in a better position than smaller ones to withstand economic pressures without raising prices, eventually everyone feels the pinch. It is therefore unsurprising that both smaller (Kabelnoord) and larger (KPN and Ziggo) network operators in the Netherlands have opted to raise prices over the last year.

Yet, while tough times are causing inevitable price hikes on one end, it is also bringing opportunity at the other end, in this case, to low-cost MVNOs who don’t typically need to deal with the added expense of building and managing network infrastructure. Tres Telecom is a great example of an MVNO clearly looking to take full advantage of the current economic challenges. Along with their interesting strategy of a membership fee for access to (what they claim to be) rock-bottom rates, the company’s name, Tres, is a consolidated form of Telefonica REpresentativa Solidaria, obviously meant to signal solidarity with consumers during these hard times.