Vodafone and other telcos have their price increases in recent years are poorly documented. That says Vodafone director Jens Schulte-Bockum. KPN’s proposal for a chatheffing last year was, according to the chief ‘stupid’.
Schulte-Bockum denies in an interview with The Financieele Dagblad that the price increases at mobile providers in recent years were the result of price fixing. “The unsuspecting outsider that the rates of collective rise, finds quickly in a coordinated action. The truth is that we all face the problem of shrinkage aanliepen and simultaneously action taken. That is perfectly explainable.”
KPN last year’s proposal which was for a chatheffing, additional costs for the use of sms alternatives such as WhatsApp, it was a ‘stupid reaction’, says Schulte-Bockum. Appeasing unrest among shareholders, would KPN be more important than the interest of customers. The proposal led to the Second Room net neutrality into law, lifted up. The custom telecom law to net neutrality continues through the First Room to be adopted.
According to the Vodafone-manager, price increases are needed because the investments in the network increased, without the revenue increased. “We are implementing our investment, but don’t grow the profit. The margins are in the last years too much deteriorated (…). There comes a time that we the level of service that customers are accustomed to no longer guarantee.” Schulte-Bockum, who will say goodbye to Vodafone Netherlands, and for a different function in the provider to leave for Germany, said something already.