Xfone has officially announced that it will launch its new mobile phone network next Tuesday. The event will be attended by Minister of Communications Ayoob Kara and businessperson Hezi Bezalel, the owner of Xfone.
Xfone will launch its new network under the We4G brand name. Xfone will be a mobile operator, not a virtual operator, and will have right to a joint network with Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE:CEL; TASE:CEL) and Golan Telecom.
There are many different assessments of what effect We4G will have on the market if it starts by offering very low introductory prices. On the one hand, some believe that the prices in the market are so low that Xfone's ability to cause people paying NIS 30-40 a month for an overall package to switch to We4G in order to save another NIS 10 is limited. However, others feel that We4G's entry will increase downward pressure on prices and make it even more difficult for competitors to raise their prices. It will therefore be interesting to see whether the new operator will be able to recruit enough new subscribers to justify the investment in the project.
In any case, this is Bezalel's second attempt at entering the mobile telephony market and leaving his mark as an active and important player in the Israeli communications market, following his failed bid for the tender won by Golan and Hot in 2011.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 4, 2018
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