Virgin Mobile comes to France - VM launched in France

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Virgin Mobile comes to France – at last!

Paris, Champs Elysées, 3 April 2006:

Richard Branson, founder and chairman of Virgin Group, today launched Virgin Mobile, France’s new mobile phone operator.

This long-awaited launch marks the start of a shake-up of the French mobile marketplace, which will in turn benefit French mobile consumers.

The launch of Virgin Mobile in France marks a step-change in the mobile market, as the era of enforced customer loyalty to an operator is now over. Confusing tariffs, hidden charges, small print, and incentives to over-spend are no longer the only options in the French mobile phone market.

Simplicity, transparency, quality and honest treatment for the customer are the watchwords of Virgin Mobile. In France, we also call it Liberty, Equality, Fraternity!

Liberty: We are the first mobile operator to offer genuine unlimited text messaging 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, to any network. With Virgin Mobile the maximum length of a contract is 12 months, and we promise to end your contract within a maximum of 10 days.

Equality: We offer pre-pay customers the same rates and the same quality of service as we offer contract customers.

Fraternity: The best customer service in the French mobile industry.

This is an approach that has proven hugely successful for Virgin Mobile companies around the world, and is now being applied to the French market.

Virgin Group founder and chairman Richard Branson, said:

“You have to know how to take risks to get things moving. That is what Virgin is now doing for mobile phones, as we have done previously for music and air transport. In France, the existing operators defend their interests and consumers have lost confidence in them. We want to offer an alternative - an operator that doesn’t work against its customers, but with them.�

Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux, Chairman of Virgin Mobile in France, adds:

“With Virgin Mobile there are no second-class customers. All of our customers, whether pre-pay or contract, are treated in the same way. Our promises and ambitions are clear: we want to give customers back their voice, and we intend to become the fourth biggest operator, with a target of one million customers within three years.�

The Virgin Mobile proposition:

Whether you are looking for a contract with or without commitment, pre-pay, or forfait bloqué , Virgin Mobile has devised a range of deals and services that offer the same benefits for everyone. Of course, everyone will benefit from the same efficient Customer Service

This is the first contract in the market that includes truly unlimited text messaging. Virgin Mobile is the first mobile operator in France to offer an unlimited number of text messages, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to any network.

Customers can pre-pay at the same rates as a contract! Virgin Mobile has devised pre-pay bundles which, thanks to the ‘30J’ (30 day) formula, offer a tariff which charges the equivalent to that of the monthly contract, but without commitment. And the SIM card required to take advantage of this offer costs only 15€, half the average price of our competitors.

Everything is included, with no hidden extras. The whole range of Virgin Mobile tariffs include all the options at no extra cost. No standard services (caller identification, redialling, etc) cost extra.

You can change your package at any time without charge. As your needs change, you can switch from a pre-pay bundle to a contract, change the length of your contract, or switch from a forfait bloqué to a contract. We won’t charge you to change your mind, and you get to keep the same number.

Just 12 months – that’s the maximum length of Virgin Mobile contracts.

A complete range of phones. Virgin Mobile will offer a core range of nine handsets from launch, as well as offering consumers a further wide choice of great value handsets from the retailer’s catalogue.

Unmatched Customer Service. Calls to Virgin Mobile Customer Service are free after the first 3 minutes. There is a single number to call, 7 days a week, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. (10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays). This number handles all enquiries, pre-pay or contract, a technical problem or a just a request for information. Everyone is treated with the same speed and the same quality of service. With Virgin Mobile, there is no economy class or business class when responding to our clients.

Virgin offers an Emergency After-Sales Service: Virgin Mobile has devised an emergency kit for contract customers. Within 48 hours a faulty mobile is repaired and despatched back to the customer. And for pre-pay customers, the handset is repaired by Virgin Mobile technicians free of charge.

The shortest notice period to terminate your contract in the market. It takes just ten days to end your contract with Virgin Mobile, instead of the 60 days required by some competitors.


The Virgin Mobile range of handsets

At launch the handset range will comprise of nine handsets which meet Virgin Mobile’s selection criteria of reasonable prices, fashionable design or personalised design. The models of handset offered in Virgin Mobile’s core range currently account for more than 50% of handsets sold in the French mobile market and clearly meet the real needs of users. Handsets are available from 49€ to 159€ for pre-pay, and from 1€ to 69€ for a contract or a forfait bloqué (with a 12-month contract).

Where do I find Virgin Mobile?

From day one, Virgin Mobile can be found at more than 10,000 outlets. In the centre of town or on the outskirts, online or by phone, Virgin Mobile deals are available almost everywhere. From the major distributors (GSA, GSS, the mobile specialists – Auchan, Boulanger, Cora, Géant, Leclerc, The Phone House, Virgin Megastore and at independent outlets), in most of the neighbourhood stores (Relay newsagents, in the tabacs), by phone (freephone 0 800 00 1234, Monday to Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.) or by Internet (www.virginmobile.fr), and exclusively in the all branches of the Caisse d'Epargne.

Content that shakes things up!

With ‘Shaker’, Virgin Mobile has created a different kind of mobile portal, because ‘mobile surfers’ want clarity, commitment and directness, not waffle. ‘Shaker’ offers strong editorial content in keeping with the philosophy of the Virgin brand, which is distinctive and uncompromising. Shaker offers music, sport, games, features, interviews, videos and goodies, such as ring tones and logos.

Like its users, ‘Shaker’ changes its look, and therefore its contents, in the course of the day. Night is the time for meetings and dialogue, and in the daytime the emphasis is on news.

Virgin Mobile in France

Virgin Mobile France is a joint venture between Virgin Group and Carphone Warehouse. Virgin Mobile is a French mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) using the Orange network. Launching on 3rd April 2006, Virgin Mobile offers French consumers a simple, clear, innovative and competitive choice.

Virgin Mobile first launched in the United Kingdom in 1999 by Richard Branson, and now also operates in Australia (2000), the USA (2002) and Canada (2005). The Virgin Mobile brand enters the French market with a customer base of more than 10 million worldwide, and wealth of expertise in mobile telephony.

Press contacts
RUMEUR PUBLIQUE
Xavier Leboulanger xavierl@rp-net.com 01 55 74 52 26
Anne-Lise Ibrahimoff anne-lise@rp-net.com 01 55 74 52 18

http://www.virginmobile.fr/

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[Shock]

why? :~

[JT]

I'm sure I posted this a while back after a trip to Paris where there was a small column in a paper.

[thedon]

Will this affect roaming charges for UK Virgin customers on holibobs in France?