Cinema tickets will no longer be printed out at the box office but sent to your mobile phone, and you will get the latest news and entertainment in digital format on the same handset. How? By simply becoming a Bay Mobile client.
To be launched in the next few weeks, Bay Mobile is one of two new mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) on the Maltese Islands. These mobile operators use the infrastructure of a national operator, in this case Vodafone Malta, to provide mobile 3G (third generation) communication services, usually to specific segments of the market.
Bay Mobile is the brand of services provided by BayTel Ltd, a member of the Eden Leisure Group that is synonymous with entertainment in the St Julian's area.
"We saw the potential of leveraging our Bay brand by offering a more relevant MVNO service to the youth market," said Simon De Cesare, chief executive officer of BayTel. "89.7 Bay has grown over the last 17 years into one of the most successful private radio stations in Malta, consistently voted most popular station in the youth market but also appealing to older brackets hitting the top spot in all age brackets up to 49 years old."
After a lot of research and work with MVNO consultants, BayTel developed its business case and made presentations to both Vodafone Malta and Go early last year, presenting itself as a good potential partner to service the youth market. In the end, for various reasons, BayTel decided to work with Vodafone Malta as an ideal provider. Over the course of the negotiations Vodafone introduced Aspider Solutions, a major MVNO technological solutions provider.
Negotiations took several months and it was not easy.
"Negotiations are seldom easy and the business model is far from simple, in fact it is very complicated for those outside the business," admitted Mr De Cesare. "That said, we had engaged the services of top UK consultants to guide us and help us develop our business case. They had experience negotiating with Vodafone UK and many other network operators who were able to contribute. Being the first MVNO in the market has meant that there is a learning curve for all parties involved as well as significant technical implementation to enable MVNOs to use Vodafone's network. In the end, we managed to agree on a contract that would allow us to compete effectively in our market and one that would allow us to develop our offering."
Bay Mobile will be launched with most of the functionality already on the market at the moment, and it plans to roll out added functionality every month in order to keep the offering fresh and exciting, he added.
"Mobile ticketing for cinemas and concert events are options we are looking at as well as being well suited to offer movies and music. The event-related content via data services will be available over 3G/HSDPA network. Secure payments through mobiles are still being tested abroad and are still a number of years away."
Bay Mobile customers will benefit from full nationwide coverage and may keep their number should they wish to through the number porting facility. However, anyone interested in identifying themselves as a Bay listener can get a 9897 number (Bay Radio frequency).
The Maltese mobile phone market is already serviced by two large national operators, Vodafone Malta and Go, and the third one, Melita, is set to launch in the coming months. Some industry observers think three major operators is too much for our small market, let alone having the MVNOs.
"Well, Malta has a penetration rate of 91 per cent at last count which is relatively low compared to many other European countries like Italy and Greece at 122 per cent and 126 per cent respectively," replied BayTel CEO. "There is room to grow. However, the three main operators will all be competing for the same chunk of the pie, which will not grow sufficiently to maintain revenues for everyone, which in turn may reduce the investment being pumped into the infrastructures. I believe that three operators and a number of MVNOs is probably too many for Malta's small size, however, those successful are those that will table something different and unique. MVNOs, while operating with lower margins usually are more focused and brand driven."
Bay Mobile has already started this drive even before its official launch.
"We already have several hundred people who have already committed to switch to Bay Mobile as part of our Tiesto concert promotion and we expect to have many more joining up once we launch officially," remarked Mr De Cesare.
The other new MVNO in Malta is One Mobile, operated by One Productions Limited, owned by the Malta Labour Party. One Mobile is expected to focus on the niche of loyal Labour supporters.
The launch of even more MVNOs in Malta is not excluded.
"We are working with several other entities that have shown interest in setting up an MVNO operation with us," confirmed a Vodafone Malta spokesman. "We cannot quantify since whether we conclude or not with all these MVNOs depends on the outcome of commercial negotiations. It is then entirely up to the MVNOs to announce their offerings."
i-tech@timesofmalta.com
To be launched in the next few weeks, Bay Mobile is one of two new mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) on the Maltese Islands. These mobile operators use the infrastructure of a national operator, in this case Vodafone Malta, to provide mobile 3G (third generation) communication services, usually to specific segments of the market.
Bay Mobile is the brand of services provided by BayTel Ltd, a member of the Eden Leisure Group that is synonymous with entertainment in the St Julian's area.
"We saw the potential of leveraging our Bay brand by offering a more relevant MVNO service to the youth market," said Simon De Cesare, chief executive officer of BayTel. "89.7 Bay has grown over the last 17 years into one of the most successful private radio stations in Malta, consistently voted most popular station in the youth market but also appealing to older brackets hitting the top spot in all age brackets up to 49 years old."
After a lot of research and work with MVNO consultants, BayTel developed its business case and made presentations to both Vodafone Malta and Go early last year, presenting itself as a good potential partner to service the youth market. In the end, for various reasons, BayTel decided to work with Vodafone Malta as an ideal provider. Over the course of the negotiations Vodafone introduced Aspider Solutions, a major MVNO technological solutions provider.
Negotiations took several months and it was not easy.
"Negotiations are seldom easy and the business model is far from simple, in fact it is very complicated for those outside the business," admitted Mr De Cesare. "That said, we had engaged the services of top UK consultants to guide us and help us develop our business case. They had experience negotiating with Vodafone UK and many other network operators who were able to contribute. Being the first MVNO in the market has meant that there is a learning curve for all parties involved as well as significant technical implementation to enable MVNOs to use Vodafone's network. In the end, we managed to agree on a contract that would allow us to compete effectively in our market and one that would allow us to develop our offering."
Bay Mobile will be launched with most of the functionality already on the market at the moment, and it plans to roll out added functionality every month in order to keep the offering fresh and exciting, he added.
"Mobile ticketing for cinemas and concert events are options we are looking at as well as being well suited to offer movies and music. The event-related content via data services will be available over 3G/HSDPA network. Secure payments through mobiles are still being tested abroad and are still a number of years away."
Bay Mobile customers will benefit from full nationwide coverage and may keep their number should they wish to through the number porting facility. However, anyone interested in identifying themselves as a Bay listener can get a 9897 number (Bay Radio frequency).
The Maltese mobile phone market is already serviced by two large national operators, Vodafone Malta and Go, and the third one, Melita, is set to launch in the coming months. Some industry observers think three major operators is too much for our small market, let alone having the MVNOs.
"Well, Malta has a penetration rate of 91 per cent at last count which is relatively low compared to many other European countries like Italy and Greece at 122 per cent and 126 per cent respectively," replied BayTel CEO. "There is room to grow. However, the three main operators will all be competing for the same chunk of the pie, which will not grow sufficiently to maintain revenues for everyone, which in turn may reduce the investment being pumped into the infrastructures. I believe that three operators and a number of MVNOs is probably too many for Malta's small size, however, those successful are those that will table something different and unique. MVNOs, while operating with lower margins usually are more focused and brand driven."
Bay Mobile has already started this drive even before its official launch.
"We already have several hundred people who have already committed to switch to Bay Mobile as part of our Tiesto concert promotion and we expect to have many more joining up once we launch officially," remarked Mr De Cesare.
The other new MVNO in Malta is One Mobile, operated by One Productions Limited, owned by the Malta Labour Party. One Mobile is expected to focus on the niche of loyal Labour supporters.
The launch of even more MVNOs in Malta is not excluded.
"We are working with several other entities that have shown interest in setting up an MVNO operation with us," confirmed a Vodafone Malta spokesman. "We cannot quantify since whether we conclude or not with all these MVNOs depends on the outcome of commercial negotiations. It is then entirely up to the MVNOs to announce their offerings."
i-tech@timesofmalta.com