Orcon contemplates mobile - but whose network?

Orcon is surveying its broadband customers on mobile phone plans to find out what deal would make them change provider. But whose network will Orcon wholesale services on - Vodafone or XT?

The telco has an agreement with Vodafone to wholesale services on its 3G network but to date it hasn’t released any plans, and Orcon marketing manager Duncan Blair says they won’t be launching a mobile service before Christmas.“I guess we could have launched a while ago with plans like the other MVNOs (such as Slingshot) have done,” he says. “It would have been quite similar to what’s in the market and I guess we didn’t feel like that’s very Orcon, if you like. We like to do things a little bit differently as you know.”When asked if Orcon would be interested in switching to Telecom’s XT Network, now that the telco has brought forward its wholesale plans, Blair says he isn’t personally aware of plans to do so.“We talk to Telecom Wholesale all the time given that we’re a big fixed line customer of theirs. It’s quite possible we’ve had a chat but I don’t know.”In the survey which went out late last week customers are asked if any of the following plans would entice them to switch providers:Plan A – No monthly access fee, with a sliding per-minute rate that ranges from $0.79 per minute for 0-30 minutes of calling per month to $0.40 per minute for 61+ minutes of calling per month.Plan B – Monthly fee at $49.95 with 120 free minutes (after that 39c per minute) and call anytime to 021 or 027.Plan C – Monthly fee at $69.95 with 180 free minutes (after that 39c per minute) and call anytime to 012 or 027.In all plan options texts are 20c or a bundle of 500 texts for $11.95.