Vodafone & Blackberry Storm – Yet Another Paddy Tax
Rip Off Ireland is at it again. It wasn’t enough for O2 to rip off Irish customers who wanted an iPhone, now Vodafone are ripping off those who want a Blackberry Storm.
Blackberry Storm
Back in March, Pat Phelan exposed the O2 Paddy Tax on the iPhone. Now, I’m exposing the Vodafone Paddy Tax on the Blackberry Storm – due to be released here in the next few weeks.
Vodafone UK today launched the Blackberry Storm for sale online. The phone is free on all contracts. The cheapest £35 (€41) per month contract includes 600 minutes of calls; unlimited texts; unlimited data; and unlimited Blackberry email.
Two weeks ago, Vodafone Ireland gave details of their price plans here to Silicon Republic (later confirmed on Vodafone’s own site). With the cheapest contract – €49.99 (already a tenner more than the UK) – the phone costs €109.99. That contract includes just 100 minutes of calls; 100 texts; 1GB of data (including Blackberry email).
Side by Side: UK & Ireland
Let’s put those side by side for comparison:
- Phone Cost: UK – €0; Ireland – €109.99
- Cheapest Contract: UK – €41; Ireland – €49.99
- Bundled Minutes: UK – 600; Ireland – 100
- Bundled Texts: UK – unlimited; Ireland – 100
- Bundled Data (email & web): UK – unlimited; Ireland – 1GB
- Bundled Email: UK – unlimited; Ireland – 1GB
UK customers get more than six times what Irish customers get (infinitely more when it comes to data), and pay a tenner less a month and nothing up front.
And the charges once you pass those Irish limits are pretty outrageous too:
Silicon Republic:
Additional call charges that will be applied to the pricing plans if users go beyond their package allocation will range between 18 cent and 30 cent, 11 cent per text message, €2 per megabyte of BlackBerry email and 2 cent per kilobyte of Vodafone Live.
As James points out, we’re already giving the mobile companies a 66% average revenue per user (ARPU) than the rest of Europe. And that’s rising, as the Indo reported earlier this week (see the last line of that article).
Going Dutch
In the Netherlands, Vodafone are also giving the Blackberry Storm away free – this time with a basic contract at €44.50. With that, you get 300 minutes and 300 texts, and unlimited data/email (I’m fairly sure – my Dutch is a bit rusty). More than three times as much as Irish customers get, but for a fiver less a month, and no up front cost.
Come on Vodafone
Why does someone in Newry pay less and get more than someone a couple of miles down the road in Dundalk? Why, for that matter, should the customers who generate more revenue per head than any others in Europe be charged far more for far less than other Europeans?
So come on, RIM and Vodafone Ireland. Get one over on O2 & Apple. Stop the Paddy Tax. Stop ripping us off.
Update (2008-11-19):
Matt Cooper covered this on The Last Word too.
that’s wrong let those people buy there phone’s without such a pathedic tax. they work hard as we do, buying high price phones with our money and what you do,bring about some harsh tax.let those people have fun and destroy that dumb tax on phones.Free Ireland!!!
[...] points out how Irish people are being screwed again for a most wanted phone, this time it’s Vodafone and this time it’s the [...]
I was planning on getting one. Now, I am not. And If I got one, I think my six executive team members would have to too (c’mon, you know its true). Thus, total loss. Hey, wonder if o2 would do a group iPhone deal?
As a gadget-weenie I had been considering the Storm as it looks like an interesting phone and my contract with Voda is up this month, but with this paddy-tax I’m going to go to plan B and see if I can track down cheap and cheerful replacement for my much battered Nokia e71 on gumtree.ie or somewhere like that.
Apart from anything else, the package they’re giving is shit and is actually a disincentive to use the phone for anything other than quick calls texts. Just 5 emails with reasonably large attachments and you’re paying an extra €10 per month.
Cnuts. I wonder what lame justification Vodafone might trundle out for the very obvious rip-off of Irish consumers. Perhaps the L’Oreal defence?
I forked over a wad of cash to that shower in O2 for their iPhone, what bloody choice have I got… get a hacked unsupported version from internet – Is getting fucked over by the major mobile phone companies just part n parcel of being Irish now – what a bloody disgrace.
[...] possibly heard on Matt Cooper’s The Last Word today. Read the full story here. Bookmark to: November 17th, 2008 at 17:00 in Technology | tags: blackberry storm, matt cooper, [...]
[...] that Matt Cooper was able to cover my Vodafone/Blackberry Storm Paddy Tax story on The Last Word today. He was joined by Adrian Weckler of the Sunday Business [...]
Ah yes. Now I remember why I left the country – No one screws the Irish more than the Irish themselves.
I went in to my local VF shop in London when the Storm was launched. The “unlimited” data package in the UK is actually 500MB – yes, HALF the IE data allowance. Not only that, but Blackberry emails count towards that data usage!
[...] Dominic Hannigan raised the Vodafone/Blackberry Storm/Paddy Tax issue in the Seanad last week. Transcript here (click “Order of Business”, then click [...]
[...] is the link. Still no sign that they’re dumping the Paddy Tax, though. Bookmark to: November 25th, 2008 at 08:30 in Technology | tags: 27th november, [...]
[...] have to admit that after my reservations about the handset, and even to some degree, the paddy tax*. I still believe strongly that the texts/minutes included could be improved by bringing them [...]
Just got a storm last friday,handing it back next monday, As its useless for the basics i.e. making a phone call.Have other 087 phone in the same location and working ok the BBSTORM has an SOS OPTION. Brilliant