Ben NL
Encyclopedia
Ben NL or Ben is a Dutch
virtual mobile network operated by T-Mobile NL. It offers voice, text and data service at highly discounted rates. Ben only offers 3 subscription types ranging in price from € 4,95 for 100 minutes/text messages per month to € 14,95 for 500 minutes/text messages per month.
In order to keep its prices down, Ben has a very limited customer service offering; a Ben subscription can only be purchased online and most customer administration is in the form of online self-service. Also, Ben does not offer subsidies for new handsets. Instead it assumes that its customers will already have a handset.
Ben offers its voice, text and data services on the GSM
, GPRS
, EDGE
and UMTS (HSDPA)
networks of its parent company T-Mobile NL.
Ben emerged on the Dutch mobile market at a time when mobile phones were still a status symbol and were primarily used by business people. Ben expressly targeted a younger group of users with its trendy, minimalistic advertising using word-play with its name. "Ben" is a common first name in the Netherlands and also, in Dutch, roughly translates into "I am". Examples of this are the slogans "Ik ben Ben" (I am Ben) and "Ben Bereikbaar" (I'm available/reachable).
The initial launch of Ben was marked with a 3 minute television ad shown simultaneously on all major TV stations in the Netheralnds. The company launched several viral advertising advertising campaigns in clothing stores, clubs, bars, movie theaters and other places where a primarily younger audience could be targeted. Many cafés and cinemas in the Netherlands still sport the "Ben even uit" stickers on their doors, which means about the same as "I've just gone out for a bit" or "I've just (been) turned off for a while", asking customers to turn off their phones before entering.
Overall marketing for Ben in the Netherlands was considered by most to be trendy and artistic. The premieres of new Ben television ads were usually announced weeks in advance and watched with great anticipation.
On September 20, 2002, Ben was purchased by T-Mobile Netherlands
, a 100% subsidiary of T-Mobile International. By 2003, T-Mobile had completed a worldwide rebranding of all its mobile telecommunications assets, and the name Ben was changed to T-Mobile NL.
The name and trademark Ben vanished until 2008 when T-Mobile relaunched the brand as a virtual mobile network. The brand is intended to be a discount outlet for T-Mobile's networks in the Netherlands.
In keeping with tradition, the relaunch of Ben was heralded by a 3 minute, artistically designed television ad shown on all public TV stations in the Netherlands. Social networks like Hyves
and websites such as YouTube
were also used to promote the brand to a younger target group.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
virtual mobile network operated by T-Mobile NL. It offers voice, text and data service at highly discounted rates. Ben only offers 3 subscription types ranging in price from € 4,95 for 100 minutes/text messages per month to € 14,95 for 500 minutes/text messages per month.
In order to keep its prices down, Ben has a very limited customer service offering; a Ben subscription can only be purchased online and most customer administration is in the form of online self-service. Also, Ben does not offer subsidies for new handsets. Instead it assumes that its customers will already have a handset.
Ben offers its voice, text and data services on the GSM
Global System for Mobile Communications
GSM , is a standard set developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute to describe technologies for second generation digital cellular networks...
, GPRS
General Packet Radio Service
General packet radio service is a packet oriented mobile data service on the 2G and 3G cellular communication system's global system for mobile communications . GPRS was originally standardized by European Telecommunications Standards Institute in response to the earlier CDPD and i-mode...
, EDGE
Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution
Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution is a digital mobile phone technology that allows improved data transmission rates as a backward-compatible extension of GSM...
and UMTS (HSDPA)
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System is a third generation mobile cellular technology for networks based on the GSM standard. Developed by the 3GPP , UMTS is a component of the International Telecommunications Union IMT-2000 standard set and compares with the CDMA2000 standard set for...
networks of its parent company T-Mobile NL.
History
On August 28, 2000, Belgacom, T-Mobile International, and Tele Danmark applied for permission to share control of Ben Nederland Holding (“Ben”). At that time, Belgacom was the principal telecommunications provider in Belgium, Tele Danmark the principal telecommunications provider in Denmark, and T-Mobile International a mobile telephony service provider and subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom. Ben was to become a “full function joint venture” and function as an independent company.Ben emerged on the Dutch mobile market at a time when mobile phones were still a status symbol and were primarily used by business people. Ben expressly targeted a younger group of users with its trendy, minimalistic advertising using word-play with its name. "Ben" is a common first name in the Netherlands and also, in Dutch, roughly translates into "I am". Examples of this are the slogans "Ik ben Ben" (I am Ben) and "Ben Bereikbaar" (I'm available/reachable).
The initial launch of Ben was marked with a 3 minute television ad shown simultaneously on all major TV stations in the Netheralnds. The company launched several viral advertising advertising campaigns in clothing stores, clubs, bars, movie theaters and other places where a primarily younger audience could be targeted. Many cafés and cinemas in the Netherlands still sport the "Ben even uit" stickers on their doors, which means about the same as "I've just gone out for a bit" or "I've just (been) turned off for a while", asking customers to turn off their phones before entering.
Overall marketing for Ben in the Netherlands was considered by most to be trendy and artistic. The premieres of new Ben television ads were usually announced weeks in advance and watched with great anticipation.
On September 20, 2002, Ben was purchased by T-Mobile Netherlands
T-Mobile
T-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
, a 100% subsidiary of T-Mobile International. By 2003, T-Mobile had completed a worldwide rebranding of all its mobile telecommunications assets, and the name Ben was changed to T-Mobile NL.
The name and trademark Ben vanished until 2008 when T-Mobile relaunched the brand as a virtual mobile network. The brand is intended to be a discount outlet for T-Mobile's networks in the Netherlands.
In keeping with tradition, the relaunch of Ben was heralded by a 3 minute, artistically designed television ad shown on all public TV stations in the Netherlands. Social networks like Hyves
Hyves
Hyves is a social networking site in the Netherlands with mainly Dutch visitors and members and competes in this country with sites such as Facebook and MySpace. Hyves was founded in 2004 by Raymond Spanjar, Koen Kam, and Floris Rost van Tonningen....
and websites such as YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
were also used to promote the brand to a younger target group.