T-Mobile Czech Republic has launched a promotion for the Christmas season (starting November 1) that offers free on-net calls for three months to current subscribers of the With Us 290, 590 and 790 plans and free on-net calls for one year to new subscribers who sign a one-year contract. New subscribers to the With Us 990, 1490 and 3290 plans who sign 24- or 36-month contracts will get 30 percent off their subscription for its entire duration. The promotion also includes various discounts on Smartphones, a 25 percent discount on the provider’s Internet for Travel mobile data plan, and discounts on prepaid service.

Tarifica’s Take

As the holiday season approaches, mobile operators are looking for promotions to draw in new customers, as well as to lock in existing subscribers for the coming year. In this particularly competitive period, operators are well aware that if they do not offer promotions, others will.

We have been urging providers to add new services such as proprietary apps and cloud storage – not just to generate revenue now but to build a customer base of the future around higher value added, non-commoditized services. For those operators not yet able or ready to bring such offerings to market, discounting is the most effective way to attract and retain customers. Moreover, for those operators that are behind the curve in terms of LTE development and rollout, pricing is not just a way to differentiate themselves from competitors with more advanced networks, it is the primary (if not only) basis for remaining competitive. In summary, until providers can enhance their services or rollout a high-end 4G network, they will likely have to focus on pricing to remain competitive. And that means promotions will be with us for some time to come. Given the state of the industry, including the mismatch between the “haves” and the “have nots,” we expect these promotions to become even more aggressive in the future.