State-owned internet provider Orcon yesterday entered the mobile service market promising to shake up the competition with no-catch plans and no fixed-term contracts.
Orcon will piggy-back on the Vodafone network, making the new service available to Otago consumers.
Four handsets, ranging from $60 through to $699, are available through the website or by phone.
Customers using their own handset will be given an account credit.
Orcon will offer four post-paid plans.
The basic Purple Mobile plan has no monthly fee and a flat rate of 69c a minute, dropping to 38c for higher spending customers.
Mobile data will cost $49.95 a month for one gigabyte or a casual daily rate of $1 for 10 megabytes.
Chief executive Scott Bartlett said the launch into the mobile market was a natural progression for the company.
Orcon's pricing would be competitive but not the cheapest.
It chose to differ on service and the lack of contracts.
Customers would pay their mobile bills on a monthly basis but would not be locked in for a fixed period.
"We want customers, we don't want prisoners.
Right now, all other players in the on-account mobile market lock in their customers to monthly or longer contracts.
Orcon's having none of that."
Pre-paid plans were possible before Christmas, he said.
Customers could keep existing numbers or move to an Orcon 020 number.
At a glance:
Kordia is a state-owned enterprise, fully owned by the Government. Until 2003, it was the transmission arm of Television New Zealand. It employs more than 700 people in New Zealand and Australia. Kordia bought Orcon in 2007 for $24.3 million.
