According to Yettel, owned by the originally Czech-based investment fund PPF, Hungarian residential customers can get a new, working subscription in minutes, without having to go in person, by simply using the app.
Yepp can be activated, paused or terminated on demand at any time with the same simplicity and flexibility as fintech and streaming services, breaking with decades of “loyalty” period insistence while offering customers unlimited domestic data and speeds on the telco’s extensive 4G and expanding 5G network. During the launch period, which runs until Sep. 30, the subscription is available at a discounted price of HUF 5,990 per month.
Banking, ordering food, shopping, or watching a movie, it seems ever more services are moving to mobile. A growing number of users want to do as many activities as possible digitally, via their mobile phones conveniently, quickly and flexibly, at any time, without visiting a shop or contacting a customer service representative.
Yettel says it has been shifting the focus of its digital customer service to the Yettel app, with features within a single app to make its customers’ everyday lives easier. And the direction of travel is clear: the number of monthly active users of the app has increased by 19% in the past year. The telco says Yepp was launched in the spirit of this digital transformation.
“We are revolutionizing the telecoms market with a fundamentally new approach to digital subscription,” says Igor Prerovsky, CEO of Yettel Hungary.
“Our aim is to provide our customers with the greatest possible convenience and a superior digital experience, similar to the way fintech solutions have paved the way for a new way forward in the banking sector. As a technical solution, Yepp also demonstrates the excellent skills of our local developers,” he continues.
“Yepp now comes after the completion of a major phase of our more than two years-long complex network modernization project focused on customer experience, building on true 5G service,” Prerovsky adds.
The significant modernization project the CEO references involved an investment of tens of billions of forints to renew its mobile network, increasing the capacity of its 4G nationwide coverage and enabling the deployment of state-of-the-art 5G technology.
Coverage continues to expand, with more than 900 base stations nationwide, most of them in the 3600 MHz C-band, which offers the best 5G capabilities. The spread of 5G has also enabled the launch of services such as HomeNet and OfficeNet, mobile internet services for home and office use, and Yettel TV, which, despite its recent launch, already serves a national customer base in the hundreds of thousands.
Yepp digital subscriptions can be ordered via the Yettel app. The quick and straightforward contracting process includes the choice of a classic physical SIM card or, if supported by the subscriber’s device, an e-SIM, which can be installed in a few steps at the end of the purchase process and essentially works in the same as a traditional SIM, with the service being up and running in minutes.
In Budapest and four other cities (the sizeable university towns of Debrecen, Győr, Pécs, and Szeged), Wolt couriers will deliver the card to your door within an hour. Nationwide MPL delivery is also available, which can be achieved on the next working day if ordered before 2 p.m., but the customer can also choose the delivery day from the options offered during the purchase.
Like streaming services, Yepp can be used without a loyalty period: the following month’s fee is deducted from the credit card using the details provided at the time the contract was taken out, but the subscription can be canceled at any time and reactivated within six months at no extra cost. The basic tariff includes an unlimited data allowance and 50 GB per month of EU and zone one roaming data, as well as incoming calls and SMS.
Yepp customers pay for outgoing voice calls or SMS only when needed: they can personalize their subscription by deciding how many outgoing calls or SMS they will need according to their current needs. Additional voice minutes, SMS and roaming data can be bought in the Yettel app in one-off or renewable versions, which can be flexibly modified or canceled as needed: 50, 250 minutes, and unlimited packages for outgoing voice calls, and bundles of 50 for SMS messages.
Most subscription needs can be handled digitally from the Yettel app, including ordering extra services, making payments with a stored credit card, and contacting customer service via chat, available 24 hours.
This article was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of July 26, 2024.
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