Summer 2006

Cherry, a new mobile phone brand offering low-cost cross-border roaming, has burst on to the UK's communications scene this summer with an appealing package of products aimed at the business market.

Initially it focuses on voice communications, but already in the pipeline is a parallel GPRS data network, again aiming to offer much lower roaming charges than the big proprietary networks.

For organisations with vehicles regularly operating on the Continent, this could greatly enhance the economics of using GPRS to gather tracking data from fleets.

Cherry provides users with replacement SIM cards (subscriber information modules) for slotting into either existing mobile phones or new units reserved for international use. These automatically connect to the strongest mobile network signal in any given location - potentially offering more reliable service than network-specific SIMs, as well as lower costs.

 

If you use existing mobiles, they may have to be "unlocked" by their original network supplier, but the networks should provide the unlock "key" on request. Individuals often have this done at mobile phone shops.

Incoming calls to Cherry SIM-based phones are free, and UK-based callers simply pay a normal domestic rate for calls to mobiles, while outgoing calls are based on Cherry's own tariff, which is said to offer significant savings over the established networks.

By way of example, calls made on the contract option cost 18p a minute from France and 22p from Germany or Spain. On pre-pay, the figures are 38p and 49p respectively.

Operators signing up for a contract of at least 15 months are currently being offered a new Nokia 3210 phone free of charge.

The service has arrived at a time when the major mobile networks are being pressed by the EU to reduce their roaming charges. However, Cherry director Nigel Chadwick told m.logistics there was "as much hot air as substance" in current proposals. "I don't see anyone coming up with specific prices at the moment," he told us.

There has been talk by some operators of capping wholesale fees at around 31p a minute, but that level would still leave Cherry looking competitive; and prices to end users could be higher than this - compounded if incoming calls remain expensive.

Chadwick acknowledges that other low-cost operators already offer cut-price cross-border SIMs, but says his company aims to take the high ground, establishing itself as a fully-fledged MVNO (mobile virtual network operator), and extending the Cherry brand gradually to include additional products and services.

He and his partners already have a presence in the mobile business through Stream, the established Scottish-based company that claims to be the leading MVNO in the machine-to-machine sector. He says their experience in everything from technology to billing gives Cherry an immediate edge in the market.