Well that was Christmas

Well that was Christmas – always a quiet time for Voipfone.

Telephone calling patterns reveal a lot about our customers, one gratifying thing is that almost none of them work over Christmas. Call volumes plummet to near zero, and Voipfone MegaCorp is able to be run on a skeleton staff. This allows them – and me – to ‘spend more time with our families.’ Still; not many dead.

There’s never much telecoms news happening either but I notice that ‘people close to BT’ have just leaked that BT will keep the EE brand after they take it over. Confusingly they intend to keep their BT Mobile service running as a separate brand.

I wonder what we’re to make of this? Back in the day everything in BT had to have its brand plastered all over it. I remember a computer games network called BT Wireplay – a more contradictory brand message has yet to be invented. But more latterly when BT bought Plus Net, they kept the brand and actively market it as different – focussed on friendly, straightforward customer service using down-to-earth, reassuringly non-corporate, northern voiceovers. I sort of get that – after all BT is not famed for its friendly and accurate service, but it seems rather deceitful and an acceptance of failure.

We’re still waiting for a regulatory green light on that one and also for the O2 and Three merger which the wags of the industry have already named O3.

Have a happy and prosperous New Year.