Connex customers to enjoy same benefits as Vodafone''s

Vodafone is committed to building on Connex”s investment and to offering Romanians global services and scale benefits, said Paul Donovan, Vodafone”s CEO for the OVS (Other Vodafone Subsidiaries) region, yesterday.

The statements by the British Vodafone official came immediately after the decision of the European Commission on Tuesday and subsequent completion of the deal that will see Vodafone take over 99% in Connex from TIW Group for an estimated 2.5bn dollars.

“We intend to make Connex part of the (Vodafone) Passport programme soon, giving greater value for money to Connex travellers,” he said. Vodafone”s recently launched Passport programme allows customers to make calls at local tariffs and receive calls of at least 30 minutes for free when abroad, after first paying a connection charge.

Ted Lattimore, Connex”s President and COO, announced that as of yesterday Connex 3G customers would be able to use Vodafone Greece”s 3G network when in Greece. A similar service is to be added for the UK, he added. The number of countries where roaming services are available to Connex”s 3G users is growing rapidly and currently includes France, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Germany and the United Kingdom.

The integration of the Connex brand into the Vodafone brand would take a few months, explained Donovan.

The use of the Vodafone brand in Romania is currently being contested in the courts.

“The rebranding process is a major element in any such transaction. After the positive outcome of the last hearing, we are confident that a final decision, favourable to Vodafone, will be taken by the court following the hearing scheduled for June 30,” Donovan said. victor@zf.ro