Italian MVNO PosteMobile has increased the monthly data of its Creami Relax 80 plan to 100 GB at the same monthly price of €10.00 (US $11.93), with the cost decreasing from the fourth month. The new Creami Relax 100 offer is initially available until 20 March to new customers and comes with 100 GB of data at speeds of up to 300 Mbps, plus unlimited calls and SMS for €10.00 a month for the first 3 renewals, descending to €9.00 (US $10.74) a month until the sixth renewal and €8.00 (US $9.55) a month from the seventh renewal onwards.

A PosteMobile prepay SIM card costs €10.00, reduced from the usual price of €15.00 (US $17.90), and is delivered to subscribers free of charge.

Tarifica’s Take

PosteMobile’s concept of decreasing the price of its Creami Relax plan over time is a thought-provoking one, in that the more usual concept is to raise the price over time. Operators generally entice new subscribers—or existing subscribers to new plans—with so-called promotional offers that end after an introductory period. The thinking is that the lower price gives an incentive to try out the network or other services, and that once the subscriber is satisfied or grows used to the level of service, he or she will be willing to pay more.

With a month-to-month, no-commitment offering, such as is common with budget MVNOs, one challenge for the operator is to retain the customer over time. PosteMobile’s offering appears to be part of a strategy to combat attrition. If the customer knows that he or she will be “earning” a progressively lower monthly payment by sticking with the operator, he or she will, in many cases at least, be more likely to stay rather than essentially stopping by to sample the service and then letting it lapse. For PosteMobile’s Creami, the increase in monthly data at the same price should be effective in acquiring subscribers, while the price decrease over time should be effective in retaining them.