Talk the talk

Stuart Kelly, national business manager at mobile phone operator Meteor, talks to David Clerkin.

You’ve just launched new packages aimed at business customers. What do they involve?

Business Edge, our new business tariff plans, are specifically aimed at Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs). We feel that in the past SMEs have not received a fair deal from other operators. With the launch of Business Edge our aim is to be a value leader for this particular business sector.

The plans are unique in that they offer straightforward value for money with the entire monthly commitment going towards the cost of calls. There’s no peak or off-peak rates and calls to landlines in Britain and Northern Ireland are at the same great rate as landline calls in Ireland.

Why should customers switch from your rivals? How much can they save by switching?

Meteor Business is striving to lead the field in coverage, cost and care.

The new plans offer business customers up to 32% savings on their business mobile bill compared to the other major operators. This is based on the average call usage of a business user making calls to all networks and landline numbers.

Why haven’t you actively targeted businesses before now?

The introduction of national coverage almost a year ago, through the signing of a roaming agreement, has enabled us to concentrate more specifically on the bill pay and business sectors.

There was a perception until recently that Meteor signals were unavailable in large parts of the country. What’s the situation now?

Our confidence in our network has seen us develop our business channel and roll out a nationwide business sales team that has signed up thousands of business users to the Business Edge plans. Without extensive coverage this would not have been possible.

The reality is that we now, with roaming agreements, cover almost 99% of the population and offer extensive coverage throughout the country.

What’s the biggest factor behind Meteor’s recent growth? Is it mobile number portability, better marketing or competition on price?

By increasing real competition in the mobile market place we have lowered prices, while still ensuring a high quality of service. In the era of rip-off Ireland, consumers are no longer willing to settle for expensive services. Our firm view is that customers shouldn’t be exposed to the rip-off culture and we are offering major savings and better value for money for businesses and for personal customers and the benefits are clear to see. Now, with over 10% mobile market share, the figures clearly show that customers are responding and making the move to Meteor.

There’s a view out there that a mobile phone service is really a commodity and that price is the only way to differentiate from rivals. What’s your view?

I think that value for money, along with price, is important. High levels of service and network quality are still key for business users.