The changes after the merger of MásMóvil and Orange continue and, in this case, what MasOrange is preparing is the next step in its restructuring. Among the short-term forecasts is the elimination of two of the brands with which they have operated until now in the Spanish market.
MasOrange had previously indicated that one of the objectives of the new company was to bring order to its large number of brands and structure a future that would revolve around its main entities. Now, based on the information we read in Cinco Días, two of MasOrange’s brands are already preparing for their inevitable end: Virgin Telco and Llamaya.
First: Virgin Telco
With the merger, the new operator has found itself with a sum of 20 commercial brands that are operating in the telecommunications market. Therefore, it was logical that the number of operators was going to reduce. The end of Virgin Telco, an initiative that arrived in Spain in 2020 with a license from the famous British operator Virgin, is “immediate.” This can be verified in different ways. On the one hand, the Virgin Telco brand has disappeared from MasOrange’s corporate website, in clear demonstration of how the group has decided to say goodbye permanently. On the other hand, online contracts for Virgin Telco services can no longer be carried out through the network.
In addition to this, we also read in Cinco Días that, if you call Virgin Telco with the aim of hiring their services over the phone, what the agents in charge do is offer you the rates of the other brands that MasOrange has. Therefore, it is obvious that Virgin Telco’s journey has come to an end. Of course, what does this mean for those customers who still have contracted the service?
The proposal is solid: Virgin Telco customers have one year of margin for their contract with the operator to end without turning back. Once that period ends, users will receive a proposal from MasOrange: switch to the services of one of its other brands or terminate the contract even if there is permanence. Of course, there will be no penalty in any of the cases.
There will be more closures
Llamaya’s entry into the MásMóvil group occurred in the now distant year of 2017 and, since then, it has opted to provide international calling services and prepaid vouchers. It has been another of the brands that have always been there covering a small part of the market. For MasOrange, it is important to fire these types of operators with the intention of focusing on the group’s most important brands, which is why Llamaya will also disappear.
According to the sources familiar with the situation to which the newspaper refers, Llamaya’s farewell will still take a while to take place, since it is planned “in the medium term.” They mention that their services have almost been discontinued, although they are still among those currently offered as brands such as Lebara or Lycamobile also operate in the same segment.
These changes are going to be very beneficial for MasOrange, which plans a future in which it will place its efforts and investment in its main brands. By simplifying your catalog you will have more capacity to grow and achieve satisfactory results in a notable way. On the MásMóvil side, the brands that are going to be promoted are MásMóvil, obviously, Yoigo and Pepephone. In addition, they maintain all their confidence in regional brands that also achieve positive results, such as Euskaltel (Basque Country), Telecable (Asturias), R (Galicia) and Embou (Aragón). In the chaos of Orange, in addition to its main brand, the objective will be to reinforce Jazztel and Simyo.
