German wireless phone operators continue to drop prices and restructure calling plans following the award of a fourth mobile phone license and growth in the consumer market.
Mannesmann Mobilfunk GmbH, which operates the D2 Global System for Mobile communications 900 network, and E-Plus Mobilfunk, the E1 Digital Cellular Services 1800 operator, both scrapped minimum usage limits and lowered interconnection fees to about $30.
Mannesmann’s D2-Fun24 and D2-Classic24 plans are aimed at customers who make short calls. The carrier removed charges for minimum calls ($9) and deactivation ($41), and introduced billing in 10-second increments.
The activation cost was cut in half to about $30. D2-Fun24 costs less than $15 per month, or about $18 per month if billed in 10-second increments. D2-Classic24 costs about $42 and $47, respectively. Both plans function under a two-year contract.
One source said the price cuts are aimed to compete with T-Mobil, which introduced a calling package in January that offers simple billing and no basic monthly charge.
Luca Tassan, consultant at the London office of the Strategis Group, recently forecast that E2 Mobilfunk, the new DCS 1800 licensee, would use price to compete with Germany’s established operators. A 62.5 percent/37.5 percent venture of Viag AG and British Telecommunications plc, E2 Mobilfunk was licensed last month and expects to start service second quarter 1998.
Susan Rosenberg, spokeswoman for AirTouch International-34.8 percent partner in Mannesmann Mobilfunk-noted that the changes in rate structure reflect both new competition and increased demand in the consumer market. As more personal users enter the market, certain price plans must reflect their calling habits.
Last October, Mannesmann and T-Mobil, the D1 GSM operator and subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG, cut monthly fees for basic call packages from about $32 to $19 and $16, respectively. T-Mobil stopped offering free or discounted phones with new service. Mannesmann cut per-minute charges for the D2-Classic plan and announced the tariff structure that went into effect last week.
