Italy's post office aims for 2 mln mobile customers in Vodafone virtual link-up
Poste Italiana is aiming for 2 mln mobile telephone customers from its recent virtual mobile network deal with Vodafone Group PLC, said post CEO Massimo Sarmi.
In an interview with La Repubblica, Sarmi said studies predict that there will be 20 mln new mobile users in the next five years in Italy.
‘We plan to gain 10 pct of these new users. Let’s say we count on gaining 2 mln new users. With 2 mln users our mobile phone operation will be in profit. So it is sensible move,’ he said.
In April, Vodafone and Poste Italiana announced a virtual mobile operator deal, giving Poste Italiana access to Vodafone’s mobile network.
Sarmi said he hopes to launch the mobile service by Christmas.
Poste Italiana sees scope to link up its mobile customers with electronic payment cards, for which the post has 9 mln customers, allowing customers to make payments using their mobile phones, he said.
‘We are working a lot around the question of micro-payments with the mobile phone, with our mobile phone naturally,’ he said.
Mobile phones can be filled up with 200 or 500 euro of credit, which can then be spent in retail outlets, he said, citing Japanese experience.
