OXFORD, United Kingdom-Following market research, the Belgian GSM operator Mobistar has revamped its call charges. The company said it has launched a new tariff designed for families based on the principle of sharing monthly call time among all members of the family.
The study, conducted by INRA, found that most Belgians have more than one cell phone per household and are increasingly eliminating fixed lines in favor of mobiles. Mobistar also said the report established that mobile phones have become an important link among family members, and it decided to launch its “Mobistar Family” service in response to this demand.
According to the company, the idea behind Mobistar Family is to pay only one monthly subscription per family, with all members sharing the predefined call time and, above all, offering free calls among members of the family for one hour a month. Mobistar said that, with a monthly budget of 35 euros (US$34.70), a family of two persons has two hours of call time, plus one hour free to call each other. A family of three persons receives three hours of call time, plus one hour for the family for 43 euros (US$42.60) a month. The unused call time is carried forward to the following month, while those using the service retain their existing mobile and voice mail numbers.
