Go Mobile tells Vodafone: 'You've got your maths wrong'

Go mobile yesterday reiterated it had the lowest SMS rate and accused Vodafone of making the wrong mathematical computations when it accused Go Mobile of false advertising.

Last week, Vodafone announced it had filed a complaint with the Office of Fair Competition and accused Go Mobile of "misleading and deceptive advertising".

Go Mobile said it filed an official complaint with the Office for Fair Trading on November 8 - before Vodafone filed its complaint about Go Mobile on the matter - but did not try to use this move as a PR stunt.

"We forcefully reject all accusations made by Vodafone on the advertising of its SMS rates and consider such claims as unfounded. The accusation by Vodafone is nothing more than an attempt to tarnish our reputation and misinform customers," Go Mobile said.

"When shorn of all the frills, the facts regarding the SMS tariffs being offered by Go Mobile and those being offered by Vodafone cannot be disputed. Whichever way one looks at it, the Go Mobile 1c SMS tariffs always work out cheaper," Go Mobile said.

When a Go Mobile subscriber registers to take part in the 1c SMS package, no fee is charged.

This tariff has been in force since December 2004 and its success throughout these past two years speaks for itself.

To purchase a 300 SMS bundle at Lm3, subscribers need only send an SMS containing 300 to 4433. Those who prefer the 500 SMS bundle at Lm5 can send an SMS containing 500 on the same number. Both bundles have a 30-day time window, which can be activated whenever the subscriber chooses.

"For the sake of clarity, let us do a simple exercise based on the competitor's publicly available tariffs on 300 SMSes. Even with their current offer of 100 free SMSes, the total comparative cost remains Lm1 more than Go Mobile.

"Before being allowed to send an SMS under the 1c tariff, a Vodafone subscriber is charged a monthly fee of Lm2...

"When one adds the Lm2 monthly fee to the cost of 200 smses at Lm2), the actual cost of 200 SMSes is Lm4, while Go Mobile is Lm3 for the same amount of SMSes...

"Go Mobile has always been a leader in providing the lowest call and SMS rates on the market; in fact Go Mobile has another prepaid tariff with a 1c SMS rate - Ready to Go Club, which offers SMS at 1c for three chosen numbers," Go Mobile said.

For more information on the 1c per SMS tariff call freephone 146 from any Go Mobile number, or 7922-2146 from other networks, or visit www.go.com.mt.