The Post Office has confirmed it will end its mobile service. The high street business said it will discontinue its Pay As You Go offering immediately with existing customers given three months to find a new provider!
The MVNO had previously run on the EE network.
Describing the MVNO as a ‘trial’, Post Office CCO Martin George explained that while the firm will continue its broadband proposition, going forward in mobile was not a sustainable option.
‘We have decided to conclude this trial as results did not give us sufficient confidence that mobile was going to contribute to our goal of becoming commercially sustainable’, he said. ‘This decision demonstrates that we are prepared to make difficult decisions to focus our investment where it can have the biggest benefit, such as in continuing to improve our retail network, digital capability and our product portfolio.’
‘We apologise for any inconvenience this causes our ‘Pay As You Go‘ mobile customers and our focus is now on letting them know how to switch to another supplier, keep their existing number and receive any refunds they are entitled to.’
Late to the party
The MVNO launched in the UK almost a year ago, selling SIM cards online and in 263 of its 11,600 nationwide branches. The brand was late to enter the market but revealed to Mobile at the time that it would not harm its chances of success. Geoff Smythe, head of telecoms at the Post Office expressed confidence that the delay had enabled the MVNO to scale up its offering by adding 4G.
He explained that the business had set high ambitions for its mobile play, aiming to compete in the same space as Carphone Warehouse’s iD, Lyca and Lebara. Symthe said the MVNO would attempt to claim a share of the ‘11m top-up transactions’ that he claimed were carried out every year in store.
The announcement sees Post Office Mobile because the latest casualty in the MVNO space, after Vodafone ended its joint venture with Sainsbury’s Mobile, who said it would look at ‘other network options’.
If your currently using any of the above networks, then call us on 01524 39212 to discuss your options, we guarantee you’ll not regret it!
