Coop to be a surprise competitor in mobile market
The Coop surprised members at Monday’s meeting with the announcement it was teaming up with Sure to launch its own mobile phone service.
The move is aimed to unlock the telecoms company’s delayed merger with Airtel Vodafone.
Speaking at the meeting, Coop CEO Mark Cox said the decision to launch the service in the Channel Islands had been driven by the potential merger of the two telcos, which stalled last year.
‘This merger is still pending regulatory approval as it has raised concerns about reduced competition in the market,’ he said.
‘However, our new product aims to sustain a healthy level of choice of consumers, ensuring that competitive options remain available.’
A launch is still subject to approval by authorities in both islands but would happen within 12 months of receiving both approvals.
Mr Cox said that it was imperative that the Coop found strategic opportunities for growth, as it would be hard to expand its offering in the food market.
‘The Coop is always looking for opportunities to innovate and offer its customers more choice and greater value at competitive prices,’ he said.
‘Coop Mobile is an exciting venture for us, for our members and for our customers across the islands, who will benefit from Sure’s investment in the latest technology and our unbeatable retail expertise.’
In a first for the islands, Coop Mobile would become a mobile virtual network operator, offering its own range of mobile services, competitive pricing, and product offerings for customers, all transmitted over Sure’s network infrastructure.
Virtual operators are common around the world. In the UK, Tesco Mobile is the largest MVNO, with more than five million customers.
While the Coop would be using Sure’s network, it would be competing against Sure and JT for retail customers.
Sure confirmed that the launch of Coop Mobile was a legally binding commitment from it as part of its proposed acquisition of Airtel Vodafone’s Channel Islands business and meant that customers would retain the choice of three operators.
Sure said that an approved merger would trigger an investment of up to £48m. in next-generation 5G mobile networks which would dramatically improve speeds and mobile coverage.
Sure’s Group CEO Alistair Beak said approval from the Guernsey authorities would pave the way for a significant investment in the 5G network the island needs.
