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London (pte005/25.11.2004/09:00) - EasyGroup is just days away from clinching a deal with T-Mobile, Deutsche Telekom's mobile division to launch a new discount mobile phone service. As the British online service "The Register" http://www.theregister.co.uk reports, T-Mobile and Easy Group, owned by entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou, are set to link a deal within the next fortnight that would see the German mobile division provide a wholesale mobile service for Haji-Ioannou's first foray into mobile telephony.
In August, Easy Group had signed a deal with TDC, the Danish telecoms operator to launch a low-price mobile phone service in the United Kingdom with the option to roll-out the service in a further 12 European countries. According to people close to discussions, T-Mobile has now agreed to wholesale tariffs that will be used by EasyMobile to provide its new service. Discussions are still taking place on how widely the EasyMobile brand can be used but a signed deal within the next two weeks is expected. Under the agreement between TDC and T-Mobile, TDC would undertake all customer relationships such as billing under the EasyMobile brand, while T-Mobile would carry the voice calls over its network.
According to analysts Strand Consult, EasyMobile will be a British version of the "very successful Danish discount mobile service provider Telmore", owned by TDC and, according to experts, whose success is based on low prices and simple tariffs.
It is expected that the developments will worry established mobile operators such as Orange and Vodafone, who fear that entry by a low-cost brand into the mobile market could seriously damage revenues and margins. "Pricing has come down dramatically since the low-cost Telmore brand in Denmark entered the market", said Mark James, an analyst at Nomura. "The fear is that these guys will create the same dynamics elsewhere".
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