Italy’s Conad chain to use Nokia Siemens Networks as a mobile virtual operator

Nokia Siemens Networks has won a contract with Conad of Italy to manage its system and provide hosting services as the supermarket chain enters the mobile virtual network operator market at the beginning of 2008.

The contract will see Nokia Siemens Networks supply Conad with convergent charging solutions and hosting services from one of its hosting centers. Using an intelligent network server, the solution will be capable of communicating flawlessly with the host network of Vodafone Italy.

Conad and Vodafone signed an agreement last August enabling the supermarket chain to enter the MVNO market within the first months of coming year. Conad will have its own brand, be the sole manager of its relationship with customers, have its own prefix number, and manage all commercial offers and customer care activities directly.

Nokia Siemens Networks will create and manage a complete Customer Relationship Management (CRM) service for tariff application and traffic management, and set up the necessary infrastructure to meet Conad’s requirements for innovative voice and data offerings.

Conad is among the top distribution cooperatives both by sales points (a total of 3,037 in Italy under the Conad, Margherita and Leclerc Conad brands) and by market share (12%). The chain has attracted around 4 mln loyalty card holders, who make a potential target group for Conad’s MVNO services in Italy, where MVNO activity is now picking up.

“We are convinced that our footprint will allow us to create a strong customer base. Our customers will have the possibility to activate and top-up their accounts at our 3,000 sales points all over Italy,” said Mauro Bosio, President of Conad Insim, the company group managing the MVNO activity.

“The mobile virtual network operator sector is becoming increasingly interesting in Italy. The business is appealing to all involved parties: from network and service providers to MVNOs and host operators to consumers,” said Roberto Loiola, the head of South East Europe Sub region at Nokia Siemens Networks.

Conad counts 8 cooperative members, to which in 2004 came also Rewe Italia. In 2002 an alliance with French hypermarket chain E. Leclerc was established to create Coopernic, first cooperative group in the large distribution in Europe – with 17.500 sales-points and a turnover of 100 bln Euro – second behind US giant Wal-Mart. Partners in Coopernic are Colruyt (Belgium), Coop Suisse (Switzerland), E. Leclerc (France) and Rewe (Germany).