Vodafone Group Plc announced yesterday that it will launch its Groupe Speciale Mobile digital cellular service to the pan-European standard on September 1 and its digital urban service in Britain from October 1. The planned service for cities, to be called MetroDigital, will offer cheaper monthly rental and call charges. The EuroDigital service will enable users to roam throughout the UK and elsewhere in Europe using the same phone. The two new services will be launched to work in partnership with Vodafone’s existing analogue services although subscribers who want the new digital services will need a new handset. Vodafone is offering these to some outlets at UKP125 for a limited period to help them get the market started. The company also published new tariffs covering all its services:
Initial Connection Monthly charge EuroDigital UKP50 UKP27.5 Analogue Business UKP50 UKP25 MetroDigital UKP50 UKP20 Low User UKP25 UKP15
Call rates (per min) National Off-peak Local EuroDigital 25p 10p Analogue Business 25p 10p MetroDigital 25p 10p 20p Low User 50p 20p
The news was welcomed by the market, which marked Vodafone shares 5 pence higher at 448 pence at the opening. The Cable & Wireless Plc-US West Inc joint venture Mercury One-2-One launches its Personal Communications Network in London this summer.
