Over 10,000 subscribers opted to switch to the mobile phone service offered by Melita Mobile in its first week of operations, even if it had to deal with a fair share of criticism, cynicism and controversy.

"The response has been overwhelming and way beyond our expectations. Our customers and staff are all excited about the fact that a cheaper service has finally come to Malta," chief operations officer Stephen Wright said yesterday.

The figure may pale in comparison to the 400,000 subscribers that big players Vodafone and Go are estimated to share but it is still a 2.5 per cent bite in the market share in just a week.

But not everyone has shared the excitement.

While many new customers say they are pleased with the service, others have complained about misleading advertising, terms and conditions written in fine print and an overall bad service.

The controversy was fuelled further on Friday when the Consumer and Competition Division said that some of Melita's advertising "may mislead consumers".

The division was referring to Melita's slogan that its rates were "up to 30 per cent cheaper". It pointed out that Melita's calls were charged per second only after the first minute, meaning that a full minute is charged for calls that only lasted a few seconds.

However, Mr Wright insists that no one was ever misled: "We have been absolutely transparent, which is a huge leap from what customers here are used to and the figures speak for themselves. All these details are explained to customers beforehand. We have nothing to hide".

But the consumer's watchdog was not the only critical voice. As soon as the item was published on timesofmalta.com, comments and complaints flooded in.

Many seemed genuinely angry at what they agreed was misleading advertising typical of the other mobile service providers. Others said they had very bad experiences with Melita's television, internet and telephone services or that they had experienced problems with its customer care.

But according to Melita, 70 per cent of its new subscribers are also subscribed to its other services, showing a sense of loyalty and customer satisfaction.

When questioned about some of the complaints made by customers through timesofmalta.com, Mr Wright was quick to respond:

Is it true that Melita Mobile can only be used with 3G phones?

"Yes, but all our customers are being given a free phone. And by that same argument, when colour TV was launched, you couldn't watch it on your old black and white set."

Is it true that there is some sort of time-window for pre-paid customers?

"No, all we need is for you to send one SMS or make one phone call each year so that we know you're still alive and using the network."

Why did some people have to wait for 45 minutes to speak to a customer care representative?

"We've been overwhelmed. It's the same thing at our outlets, there are queues even during lunchtime on Sunday! All I can do is to thank the customers and staff alike for being so patient and enthusiastic."

Melita is confident that its packages are cheaper, simpler and better, and, despite the critical comments, it knows that with 10,000 subscribers in one week it has launched itself as a formidable competitor. In fact, it's difficult to get Mr Wright to even admit that the company was experiencing any teething problems.

However, he said he was Melita's biggest critic, adding that this was just the beginning, with lots of things left to do and improve on.

"I would be worried if I were the competition. We are here and we are here to stay."

But while the first week has proven to be very successful at roping in disgruntled Go and Vodafone customers, it remains to be seen whether the momentum will continue and how the competitors will react.

While people argue about whether Melita is as good as it claims, others are just happy to know that some companies are still doing well. One commentator on timesofmalta.com said we should thank our lucky stars that in times of a global recession there was a company in Malta that was still creating employment rather than downsizing.

cperegin@timesofmalta.com