Simyo
| Simyo GmbH
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| legal form | GmbH |
| founding | May 30, 2005 |
| resolution | June 30, 2015 |
| Reason for dissolution | Merger with Telefónica Germany GmbH & Co. OHG |
| Seat | Dusseldorf |
| management | Nicolas Biagosch |
| Number of employees | 46 (2014) |
| sales | 162.6 million euros (2014) |
| Branch | Cellular |
| Website | www.simyo.de |
The Simyo GmbH (proper spelling: Data protection ) was one of the first mobile discounter in Germany. From July 1, 2015 until its dissolution, Simyo was a brand of Telefónica Germany . Existing customers were completely migrated to the Blau brand in 2016 .
history
The company, based in Düsseldorf, was founded in May 2005 by a team of four led by Rolf Hansen, the managing director at the time. Initially, E-Plus was involved with 90% and the Simyo management with 10%; on January 3, 2007, E-Plus announced the complete takeover of Simyo. On May 30, 2010 the founding team around Rolf Hansen left the company; Nicolas Biagosch took over the management of the company on May 1st, 2010 as sole managing director.
Simyo did not have its own mobile phone network , but acted as a mobile phone provider and used the E-Plus network until it was taken over by Telefónica Germany , without, however, expressly appearing as a subsidiary of E-Plus . The SIM cards were sold and the range of services offered over the Internet or via an order hotline. The advertising emphasized the no-frills character of this concept, for example with the claim "Because simply is simply simple".
In July 2005, Simyo offered a tariff of 19 ct / min. in all networks. The provider Mobilcom initially tried to stop the sale of Simyo with an injunction because E-Plus did not grant other providers the same conditions and did not inform them in good time about the start of the Simyo offer. The Federal Network Agency (formerly RegTP) decided this legal dispute on July 12, 2005 in favor of Simyo and justified this with the fact that Simyo “is not just a new tariff, but a product innovation: because of its commercial, technical and sales-related aspects A design that does without costly, previously common comfort features, differs in essential details from conventional prepaid offers ”.
Although Simyo was not the first mobile phone discounter on the German market, the company is still awarded the fact that its concept has ushered in a general price decline on the German mobile phone market. After the successful start of Simyo, more than 15 additional mobile phone discounters were founded, at least seven of them in the E-Plus network.
In February 2007, Simyo heralded a new price round for data transmissions with the no-frills providers . From June 1, 2007, Simyo offered access to the UMTS network. New customers automatically received a UMTS SIM card, existing customers could reorder it for a fee. From October 2007 onwards, Simyo offered calls to the German landline network and to Simyo subscribers for a monthly flat rate under the name “Simyo Flat”. From November 2008 Simyo also offered a data tariff in which the data volume of 1 GB was billed at a flat rate within 30 days. In June 2011, Simyo was expanded to include the EU Internet Package 50 tariff option . This enabled a mobile internet connection to be established in over 55 countries worldwide.
At the end of 2010, Simyo had 1.32 million customers.
In April 2014 Simyo published a new product portfolio that made mobile Internet the focus of use. The tariffs offered have been grouped into three groups. The Simyo smartphone tariffs offered an internet package (1 GB with up to 42 Mbit / s transmission speed) in connection with two minute packages or a flat rate for phone calls. The data tariffs offered three Internet packages in connection with a price per minute for calls. The entry-level tariffs offered either a purely usage-based price for telephone calls and Internet or small Internet packages in connection with monthly minute packages.
On May 2nd, 2014 Simyo GmbH published the WhatsApp competitor "sayHEY". Simyo wanted to achieve to merge SMS and instant messaging. The sayHEY service can be used via the website and downloaded as a free app from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
At the end of June 2015, Telefónica announced that all customers would be migrated to Telefónica Germany GmbH & Co. OHG on July 1, 2015 and that Simyo would be retained as a brand. Simyo GmbH was merged with Telefónica Germany GmbH & Co. OHG. A good year later, in July 2016, the parent company announced that all Simyo customers would be migrated to the Blau brand. The changeover was completed by the end of 2016.
Simyo abroad
Simyo was sold with similar no-frills offers in the other mobile networks of the former E-Plus parent company KPN in the Netherlands and Belgium (BASE) as well as in Spain (Orange) and France (Bouygues) .
Tariff
Simyo offered a tariff: the Simyo standard tariff. The previous Simyo Basic tariff was still valid for existing customers; For a one-time fee (5 €) they could switch from the Simyo Basic tariff to the standard tariff . A change from the standard tariff to Simyo Basic was not possible.
In the Simyo standard tariff, a customer could also book the following tariff options:
- Flat internet
- Flat SMS
- Flat landline
- Flat simyo
- Cost freeze 39 €
- EU internet package 50
In the Simyo Basic tariff, it was not possible to book the Flat SMS tariff option . Flat landline and Flat Simyo were bundled in the tariff option Flat Simyo & Festnetz .
From November 1, 2010, the uniform tariff included a cost freeze. After reaching a total fee of 39 euros in the cost free month, no further fees were charged for domestic calls and SMS to all networks as well as data connections. The cost freeze did not include connections and short messages to special numbers. The fees for the tariff options were also not offset against the 39 euros. New customers automatically received the cost freeze, while existing customers could book it at a standard tariff. In addition, a data package of one gigabyte could be booked if required. It was not available in the Simyo Basic tariff ; this initially required a change to the standard tariff. In January 2014 the activity window was shortened significantly. According to the new terms and conditions, Simyo prepaid customers had to take an action at least once within three months, otherwise the company was allowed to cancel the cards.
After Simyo, like most other mobile phone discounters, concentrated for a long time only on prepaid contracts, the company introduced the so-called Simyo uniform tariff in a postpaid version on September 1, 2008 . This variant was to be used with caution, however, as it was not possible to switch back to prepaid and the cost freeze in the postpaid variant did not work properly for the time being. From 2012 onwards, Simyo offered an allnet flat rate on account, which was based on the offer from Yourfone.
Customer service
To improve its customer service, Simyo set up the "Simyo godparents" in summer 2008. These were customers who voluntarily answered questions from other customers. The godparents benefited from the fact that, if the questioner is a prospective customer who orders a Simyo card, they received the friendship bonus as credit for their own SIM card (this bonus ranged between 5 and 10 euros) . There was no remuneration for questions from existing customers. The godparents could only tell from the question whether it was already a customer or a prospect. Some of the press reviews on the new system were very critical. Possibly Simyo just wanted to set up cheap support, because those looking for answers were always referred to the sponsors and only indirectly found Simyo's direct contact details. At first there were around 300 sponsors. The exact number was quickly unclear, as each sponsor could individually set his status to inactive.
On May 25, 2016, Simyo announced that the patent system would be terminated with effect from June 1, 2016.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Publication in the electronic Federal Gazette
- ↑ E-Plus takes over the Simyo discounter completely . Heise Newsticker, January 3, 2007
- ↑ Simyo founder Hansen leaves board / E-Plus manager Biagosch takes over. In: www.horizont.net. April 30, 2010. Retrieved August 17, 2018 .
- ↑ Simyo sees the Internet as the cheapest sales channel Teltarif.de May 23, 2006
- ↑ order hotline. Order the Simyo SIM card by phone
- ↑ Cheaper mobile - Simyo - message - Stiftung Warentest
- ↑ News - CHIP
- ↑ Federal Network Agency: Activity Report 2004/2005 ( Memento of the original dated August 30, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Bonn, December 2005. Chapter Introduction of the Simyo brand by E-Plus
- ^ Price war in the cellular network Teltarif.de June 5, 2005
- ↑ From now on UMTS at Simyo and Blau Teltarif.de May 30, 2007
- ↑ Mobile phone flat rate also from Simyo , Heise Newsticker October 1, 2007
- ↑ Annual financial statements of Simyo GmbH as of December 31, 2010, published on November 8, 2011 in the electronic Federal Gazette
- ↑ Simyo with new "data-centric" cell phone tariffs , - Accessed on May 4, 2014
- ↑ sayHEY homepage ( Memento of the original from May 17, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.teltarif.de/blau-simyo-fonic-telefonica-umstellung-wechsel/news/60155.html
- ↑ http://www.teltarif.de/simyo-blau-umzug-telefonica/news/64584.html
- ↑ A maximum of 39 euros per month: Simyo introduces a cost freeze - Article at Golem.de , from October 18, 2010
- ↑ New terms and conditions at Simyo and Blau.de: only 3 months until cancellation - accessed on January 30, 2014
- ↑ Simyo's standard tariff is now also available as a postpaid version - article at teltarif.de , dated September 1, 2008
- ↑ Simyo: Problems with freezing costs - article at mobilfunk-talk.de , from August 17, 2011
- ↑ Simyo Pate: Because customers are simply the better advisors! ( Memento of the original from August 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - Blog entry in the Simyo blog, November 13, 2008
- ↑ Outsourcing at Simyo - Customers catching customers - Article at teltarif.de , from June 16, 2008
