Melita mobile telephony was formally launched today at a ceremony in Freedom Square where the Prime Minister received the ‘first’ call on a Melita number.
The service comes into operation tomorrow, with the company saying its tariffs are 30% cheaper than competitors.
“True to its promise to be cheaper, simpler and better, Melita Mobile is rocking the mobile services market in Malta with rates up to 30% cheaper, full services, nationwide coverage and international roaming services,” Stephen Wright, Chief Operations Officer, said.
Melita is the the third full service mobile telephony operator in Malta, after Vodafone and GO. The new service is the result of a €40 million investment and a collaborative effort with Ericsson using the latest generation of 3G mobile technology and Italian telecom giant Telecom Italia which will enable Melita to offer worldwide international roaming .
“We’re here to challenge Malta’s reputation as the country with the highest mobile call-rates. Malta has never witnessed mobile call rates as cheap as ours. We promised to rock the market with cheaper prices. From tomorrow, all mobile users in Malta have the option to make the switch to a cheaper, simpler and better mobile service” said Mr Wright.
“This is a big day for Melita. But it is also a very important day for Malta and Gozo. For the very first time since the local telecoms market was liberalised, the Maltese and Gozitan people can use their mobile phone without hesitation, or fear of receiving sky-high mobile bills at the end of the month or running out of credit quickly” he added.
He said that this day was also the culmination of Melita’s evolution from a home-grown cable TV company into a quad service provider.
The investment has also seen Melita recruit over 100 people, including new customer assistance officers to help run its 24 hour customer assistance centre.
The company said its Mobile Pay monthly plans begin from €15 with the added benefit of using the monthly subscription fee against any mobile service, not just voice calls. A selection of free 3G mobile phones is available for subscribers switching to Melita Mobile.
Melita Mobile is also breaking away from the current practice of fixed time windows on usage of pre-paid top-up mobile credit. Pre-paid plans have no time window and no time limit for usage.