Forum Discussion
[Announcement] Combination of Three UK and Vodafone UK
I really hope this doesn't happen. As I believe vodafone will either close down Smarty, or at least get rid of the free calls/texts part of it, and also get rid of the unlimited data plan. I might be wrong, but I can't see vodafone keeping something going that ends up costing them money.
vista As MSF says, Vodafone already run a similar service to Smarty called Voxi, although you don't tend to get quite as much for your money with Voxi as you do with Smarty.. the main downside for me is that Voxi scrapped their inclusive EU roaming.
You could well be right that if the Vodafone/Three merger does get the go-ahead, one of these two budget brands might go. But I think that could be years off.
I very much doubt unlimited calls and texts would go.. I think people (particularly younger people) are much more likely to be using over-the-top services like WhatsApp, iMessage and Facetime (i.e. data) than traditional phone calls and SMS, hence the networks can offer these unlimited, safe in the knowledge that many customers will barely use them.
vista They already run a similar outfit called Voxi, but they are not as cheap as Smarty. When they started Voxi, they tried to limit it to the under 30’s. I think a number of people, including me, questioned the legality of that and it was dropped. Impossible to say what may happen. The Competition and Markets Authority will doubtless take an interest in this.
