14 Dec 04

Vodafone, Ireland's leading mobile operator, today announced the launch of 'Government Mobile Office' (GMO) a new cost saving initiative for the public sector.

• Flat rate monthly fee and free internal calls for Government Bodies and Agencies
• Initiative offers unlimited savings potential for 26,000 mobile users in public sector

The new tariff means that for a flat rate monthly free, public sector employees can avail of unlimited free calls to all other mobile phones and landlines on the Government Virtual Private Network. This includes more than 26,000 individual civil servants.

Along with cost savings, the new GMO proposition represents a significant enhancement to the current offering by Vodafone to Government bodies. Calls to and from mobile phones can be managed in the same way as internal land-line extensions, including call conferencing, call forwarding and call transfers, short-code extension dialling and call control.

Speaking about the announcement, Colm McVeigh, Head of Corporate and Business, Vodafone Ireland said "Vodafone Ireland is committed to working with our customers to continue to develop cost saving solutions that meet our customers' needs. The potential savings for Government bodies that take up the GMO service are significant. What we are offering our customers in Government is an opportunity to reduce cost and increase productivity. Regardless of whether the user is calling a mobile phone or a landline on the VPN, with GMO, the call will be free. We are delighted to be in a position to offer this proposition to our customers in Government".

Jim Leahy, VPN manager for CMOD said "As mobile phone usage continues to climb, not least by users in Government, it is important that all Government bodies are in a position to look at how best to utilise this technology while controlling costs. The Government Mobile Office proposition put forward by Vodafone Ireland represents a significant opportunity for Government bodies to achieve greater cost effectiveness by allowing mobile users to communicate without driving up the cost. We look forward to continuing to work with Vodafone Ireland in delivering enhanced offerings to the public sector".

The Government Mobile Office initiative is part of the Vodafone Wireless Office proposition, which aims to introduce cost saving tariffs, free internal calls and enhanced functionality to corporate and SME customers