Blyk, the advertising-funded mobile phone operator has announced plans to roll out its service in Germany, Spain and Belgium, having already launched in the UK.
The company, which has failed to respond to numerous requests from IT PRO for access to its service for review purposes, is also planning a launch in Holland later this year.
Finnish-British Blyk is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), much like Virgin Mobile. Blyk resells capacity on the Orange network in the UK under its own brand, but differentiates itself by offering a preset number of free calls and text messages to its 16 to 24 year old customer based in return for users accepting advertisements onto their phone via text message and picture message. In the UK it offers 217 texts and 43 minutes of voice calls per month for receiving up to six texts a day from brands including Adidas and Manchester United.
Germany and Spain are among Europe's biggest ad markets and Belgium's ad spending per capita is among the region's highest, Blyk's co-founder and chairman, Pekka Ala-Pietila, said in an interview.
Ala-Pietila, a former president of phone maker Nokia, said the firm was in advanced talks with operators over network renting in the new markets.
"These talks are in quite a late stage," he said.
"The concept can be adjusted to several markets," Ala-Pietila said. "Our target is not to stop at five."
(Additional reporting by Robert Hetz and Georgina Prodhan, Reuters, and Chris Green, IT PRO)
-
The Race Is On for Higher Ed to Adapt: Equity in Hyflex Learning -
Google faces 'first of its kind' class action for search ads overcharging in UKNews Google faces a "first of its kind" £5 billion lawsuit in the UK over accusations it has a monopoly in digital advertising that allows it to overcharge customers.
-
Cisco names Oliver Tuszik as global sales chiefNews Cisco has announced the appointment of Oliver Tuszik as its new executive vice president of global sales, who replaces Gary Steele.
-
'Digital hide-and-seek': Workers are wasting hundreds of hours a year sourcing the information they need to carry out their roleNews Knowledge workers globally are wasting a quarter of their working week tracking down information, new research from Atlassian has revealed.
-
Cisco wants to train 1.5 million Europeans in digital skillsNews Cisco has unveiled plans to provide free training to 1.5 million people across the EU as part of a major digital skills drive.
-
"Our goal is to transform partner success": Cisco just announced a major overhaul of its partner program – here’s what you need to knowNews The Cisco 360 Partner Program promises to accelerate the value partners bring to customers, reimagined to boost skills and innovation
-
Meta layoffs hit staff at WhatsApp, Instagram, and Reality Labs divisionsNews The 'year of efficiency' for Mark Zuckerberg continues as Meta layoffs affect staff in key business units
-
Cisco’s ‘savvy’ CoreWeave deal will supercharge its AI ambitions
Analysis Experts told ITPro the move could be an attempt to strengthen Cisco’s AI footprint
-
Cisco layoffs cut deeper than expected as firm ramps up AI focusNews The move marks the second round of Cisco layoffs so far this year, with 7% of its global headcount expected to be cut
-
Cisco to cut thousands of roles in second batch of layoffs this yearNews The Cisco job cuts mark the second wave of layoffs for the tech giant so far in 2024
