KEY POINTS:
TelstraClear is back in the mobile market with the launch of a range of mobile packages for the business market.
From today the Australian-owned phone company will be offering small and medium-sized business customers a range of mobile packages using Telecom's CDMA mobile network.
TelstraClear parted ways with previous mobile partner Vodafone in June, ending seven years of operation under an agency agreement allowing it to resell mobile services on the 029 number to an estimated 30,000 customers.
The deal gave TelstraClear customers access to mobile services from Vodafone with TelstraClear managing the customer and billing services.
TelstraClear's head of small/medium enterprises, Brenda Stonestreet, said those customers were transferred to Vodafone's billing system in September and October.
"Some of the bigger customers are still dealing with TelstraClear as their one point of service but the rest of them have gone back to Vodafone for billing and service," said Stonestreet.
The company would look to woo its existing fixed-line business customers back from Vodafone for their mobile calling.
Mobile deals for retail customers would be available from TelstraClear in the New Year.
Stonestreet said the new deal with Telecom gave TelstraClear the flexibility to offer differentiated products and services.
"This is very much our opportunity to get into the mobile market with our own products," she said.
The company will use a range of handsets available from Telecom. Its current business customers who use Vodafone for mobile services will need to change handsets in order to connect to the Telecom network under the new deal.
TelstraClear will look to Australian parent Telstra for assistance on developing services to run over mobile phones.
"This leads us into the wonderful world of putting services and applications on top of our mobile offerings," said Stonestreet.
In April TelstraClear dumped plans to build its own mobile network after a $50 million trial in Tauranga. It blamed a last-minute change to a roaming agreement with Vodafone for dismantling the pilot network, a claim denied by Vodafone.
