“The conversion to the Euro has been a complex process, which lasted over 6 months and involved significant changes in our informatics systems and our billing plans. We wanted to make the conversion as advantageous as possible for our customers, through a transparent process and a proactive communication, with the challenge of the fluctuating rate of exchange in the past few months,” said Vodafone Romania’s CEO, Liliana Solomon. The process required important financial and human resources, but the exact costs of the process remain confidential, she added. Once the switch has been made, Vodafone will gain RON 0.2 for a standard three-euro subscription (former four- dollar subscription), and RON 3.48 for four-euro prepaid cards (formerly, four-dollar cards).
By the end of June 2007, Vodafone had 8,223,000 clients. The number of mobile telephony users in Romania numbered 17.4 million at the end of 2006, a 29.86 percent increase from 2005 figures, according to data provided by the National Regulatory Authority for Communications and Information Technology (ANRCTI). Some 5.9 million people have subscriptions, while the remaining 11.1 million use prepaid cards. The exchange rate used as of October 1, 2007, for subscriptions, national tariffs for voice and data, credit on prepaid cards, and the 2in1 price plan will be €0.73421/$1, calculated as an average of National Bank of Romania exchange rates from July 29 - August 27, 2007, reads the company press release.
“The conversion to euros was a decision made in the context of Romania’s integration into the European Union and is in line with anticipation of the moment when Romania will adopt the European currency, as well as the alignment of our tariffs with those on the Romanian market,” said Liliana Solomon.
Following conversion, the four-dollar Vodafone Standard subscription will cost €3, with €0.5 for national text messages, €0.12 for international text messages, and €0.14 for multimedia messages. The value of fidelity points will likewise change, from $0.1 per point, for points accumulated to October 1, 2007, to €0.1 per point.
