Orange Poland has introduced a new version of the application Libon for VoIP calls to any country in Europe and North America. For 10 minutes of calls customers pay PLN 4.29 (US $1.09); 100 minutes cost PLN 30.49 (US$7.75); 200 minutes cost PLN 52.19 (US $13.26) and the biggest package of 400 minutes costs PLN 82.99 (US $21.09), i.e. PLN 0.20 per minute. National calls within Poland as well as calls from anywhere in the world to Poland arecheaper—the package of 100 minutes costs PLN 7.99 (US $2.03); 250 minutes cost PLN 16.49 (US $4.19) and 500 minutes cost PLN 24.99 ($6.35). A free package of 100 minutes is available as a bonus upon registration for the app.

Tarifica’s Take

Libon, launched in 2012, is a VoIP app for iOS and Android created by France-based telecom giant Orange. It represents an attempt on the part of a major multinational operator to compete with the OTT services that have been undermining the voice services of MNOs, especially when it comes to out-of-country calling. While Libon is available for download even to those who are not Orange subscribers, and even in countries where Orange has no presence,in many cases it is used as a strategy to keep customers inside the Orange ecosystem, instead of resorting to WhatsApp, Skype or other similar services. The new version launched in Poland offers services that are attractively priced. In the domestic market, the prices are especially low; the question arises, then,as to whether or not they will cannibalize the operators cellular business within Poland, and whether that would be counterbalanced by revenue increases from international calling on the part of Orange subscribers who choose Libon.