Free operator in Poland. We explain

Recall, brand Fonia debuted on the market in September 2022 as an MVNO operator that promised to provide its services in exchange for marketing consents.. Today you may get the impression that it didn’t work out, because after just a few months the business model was changed to: freemium. In addition, telecommunications services have been completely removed from the free option, leaving only access to discount coupons and the cashback program.

When in October 2023, Fonia boasted acquisition of part of Selectivv, typically related to marketing technologies, it became clear to many that the company was completely moving away from the group of telecoms. But had she ever aspired to it? Tomasz Mazek, Chief Operating Officer Fonia Telecom, tries to prove that not quite. As the representative openly declares, the main driving force behind Fonia is advertisingbut not the one associated with most Polish Internet users.

A free SIM card is the first plot to break into the market

What is a kind of solution to the puzzle is the information that the company from the beginning she had no intention of becoming a free operator. Not that she hadn’t imposed a similar narrative before, at least today Mazek is speaking clearly. Pool 5 thousand free SIMs was given away as an incentive to break through in a highly saturated industry virtual operators and discount portals. Later, a similar volume of starters was sold at a promotional price. There are currently no such promotions. Extinct.

Fonia’s intention was never to finance telecommunications services entirely from advertising. It is important to remember that entering the coupons and discounts market and the MVNO operator market is difficult for several reasons. It’s a bit of a paradox, but to have a lot of coupons on offer you need to have many users. At the same time, to have many users, you need to have many stores and coupons. How to solve a problem that at first glance seems unsolvable? We decided to give away the first 5,000 SIM cards completely free of charge, and the next 5,000 as part of the annual fee of PLN 129/year.

– says Tomasz Mazek, COO of Fonia Telecom.

This is the end of the handout, at least when it comes to telecommunications services. Currently the Premium+ plan, the only one in the offer that guarantees a SIM card, costs PLN 239 per year. It includes a 40-gigabyte data package, let’s add. However, in the company’s opinion, it is still one of the most attractive offers in its category, even though it is no longer free.

The question is whether customers share the opinion of Fonia’s COO, because so far there has been no spectacular success in terms of the operator. Mazek told us that the company serves less than 10 thousand numbersboasting a dropout rate per level of 5.45 percent But that’s about as much as has been given away so far, or sold at a promotional price. Therefore, it looks much more impressive 1 million views of the discount application for a month and it seems to be the magnum opus here.

Discount coupons and cashback

All signs in the sky point to this discount coupons and cashback are at the forefront of the offer. After all, that’s why the company was tempted to introduce it of the Premium plan, intermediate throughout the catalog. There is no SIM card in it, but it is there cashback up to 30 percent order valueand a handful of one-off coupons such as a free hot dog at Orlen, 45-day access to Audioteka or a voucher for renting a Quick scooter.

In a word, the same as in Premium+ and much more than in the free plan, which, according to the description, offers it maximum 15 percent refund for purchases, without additional benefits.

The Premium subscription was introduced at the request of our customers. We have been contacted by people who want to take advantage of discounts and rebates, but who cannot necessarily transfer their number now due to an ongoing contract with the current operator or who have, for example, a company phone. The Fonia Premium package is just for them.

– replies Tomasz Mazek when asked about the origins of the offer.

But wait, wait. What is this all about and should I pay for advertising?

Yes and no. As we found out, Fonia uses mechanisms known from affiliation, but in a slightly different way than usual. Conventional discount portals they make profit from stores for customer recommendationshowever, they can only give back to the user Hi your commission. The head of Fonia, however, argues that his company offers paid plans returns the affiliate commission in full. The profit is to come from subscription fees.

Typical affiliate mechanisms apply only for the free plan. To finance operating costs, the user pays part of the commission due. Easy.

Mazek calls this the “democratization of marketing,” acknowledging that advertising techniques involving flooding the recipient with millions of colorful banners are ineffective and in the long run Irritating. Fonia, using the collected data, declares that it focuses on: strictly targeted contentto get the highest possible conversion rate and at the same time not irritate your subscribers.

It’s not that Poles don’t like or want all advertisements. Poles do not like advertisements when they are not appropriately tailored to them and when they reach them at the wrong time (…) We try to ensure that advertisements in Fonia are tailored to the interests and current shopping needs of users as much as possible. What does it mean? If we know (and we know because we have and analyze data in real time) that someone is looking for sports goods because they browse the offers of online stores offering such assortment, we do not broadcast an advertisement for a kettle or clothing (…) In practice, the consumer receives information about a discount on the product he is looking for in a store that may not be his first choice. And if he can find a given product much cheaper (sometimes the discounts reach 30%), then he is and will be interested in such advertising.

– explains Tomasz Mazek.

It may raise some doubts type of data collected. For example, in paragraph 7, section 1 Privacy Policy we learn that Fonii application can access and manage calls. In addition, it also scans contacts, and the provider maintains a gateway to share data with third parties.

Let’s be clear: this is not a free operator

Not just because only 5,000 were free. first cards, which the company now openly admits and there is no sign that a similar campaign will return. Fonia itself avoids calling itself a telecom and prefers to use the term “premium coupons in the form of subscriptions”, although it also boasts that runs typical for BOK operators (available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday) and ensures a professional approach to the services provided.

Whether this will be accepted, time will tell. Market competition discount portals is extremely fierce, and certain brands have already managed to establish themselves in a strong position. AleRabat spends a fortune on self-promotion, Pepper gathers a huge community, and Picodi, for example, has an international reach. The sound started with a high C, but it’s hard to resist the impression that it tried to create a smokescreen around its core business at the start. This is definitely not conducive to building trust.