Cellcom: Higher price, more free data

Cellcom
Cellcom

The company is canceling its one-year plans, and will not deduct use of the most popular apps from its surfing package quotas.

Under the heading, "A change in the mobile telephony pricing model," Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE:CEL; TASE:CEL) is changing the structure of its packages for new subscribers. To put it in a nutshell, the company is raising its prices, starting this November.

Cellcom is canceling the one-year commitment for a plan and excluding important apps used by most surfers (Instagram, Waze, WhatsApp, and Facebook); these will not be included in the surfing package, and can be used for free without restriction.

The average price for a package is being raised by NIS 10, starting in November.

A 30-gigabyte package, including calls, SMS, unlimited surfing in Israel for Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Waze, plus 500 minutes of overseas calls, will cost NIS 49.90 a month. The same package with 50 gigabytes will cost NIS 59.90 a month, and the same package with 100 gigabytes will cost NIS 69.90 a month.

The price of a quatro package that includes a basket of landline and mobile communications services (Internet infrastructure, 30-gigabyte Internet provider, Cellcom TV services, a home landline, and two mobile phone lines) will remain unchanged at NIS 209 per month.

Cellcom is raising its prices, despite the intense competition in the mobile telephony market, for lack of choice. The company is taking a big risk with its new plans, but realizes that unless it raises its prices, its profits will continue falling and will slide into losses. From this perspective, Cellcom is setting a new target for the entire market; the question is whether its competitors will also increase their prices, and what the new players in the market will do. It is believed that the public will be in no hurry to abandon a company because of a NIS 10 price hike, but there will always be price-sensitive customers who will not like it.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on October 28, 2018

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2018

Prof. Douglas Irwin  credit: Inbal Marmari "We will all be poorer"

Prof. Douglas Irwin, an expert on international trade, talks to "Globes" about the impact of President Trump's tariffs policy, and what Israel can do about it.

Emiliano Calemzuk  credit: PR CEO and "investor group" buying out Reshet 13

CEO Emiliano Calemzuk and the other investors will hold 74% of the television channel, while Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries and WBD will remain with 26%.

Inflation  credit: Tali Bogdanovsky Unexpectedly low February CPI reading cuts inflation

While inflation in Israel in the 12 months to the end of February 2025 is lower than forecast, housing prices continue to rise.

Work on the Green Line credit: Bar Lavi Egged wins tender to operate TA light rail Purple, Green Lines

NTA awarded the tender to Egged, which already operates the Red Line, despite government ministry opposition to one operator for the entire network.

Yitzhak Tshuva credit: Gidon Levy and Tali Bogdanovsky Competition Authority allows Delek takeover of Isracard

The Competition Authority is considered the easier of the two regulatory hurdles that the deal must overcome, the other being the Supervisor of Banks.

David Amsalem  credit  Noam Moskowitz, Knesset Spokesperson's Office Rafael to pay state NIS 444m dividend

The minister in charge of the Government Companies Authority, David Amsalem, has approved the payment by the defense company.

Sun: Banks drive TA 35 higher

It was a positive start to the week, with record results from Menora Mivtachim making it the standout stock.

El Al almost quintuples profit

The airline posted a net profit of $545 million for 2024, 4.7 times the profit in 2023, and an all-time high.

First International Bank of Israel CEO Eli Cohen  credit: Eyal Toueg First Int'l posts top return on equity

First International Bank of Israel's return on equity in 2024 was 19%, the highest among Israel's banks.

Matrix IT CEO Moti Gutman  credit: Idan Gross Matrix CEO Gutman among highest paid execs at TASE cos

Moti Gutman's total compensation cost in 2024 was NIS 23.7 million. Matrix posted 14.4% growth in operating profit.

Matrix Hq in Kfar Saba credit: Matrix Matrix to buy Magic in major Israeli IT merger

Magic will become wholly owned by Matrix in a triangular reverse merger. The combined company is expected to have a market cap of NIS 7.7 billion.

Bank Hapoalim branch  credit: Aviv Gottlieb Bank Hapoalim raising NIS 3b

The bank is offering two series of CoCo bonds, one of which is for 25 years, and 12-month commercial paper.

Ronit Harel Ben Zeev credit: Osnat Rom S&P Maalot Israel CEO: Capital market needs more women

Ronit Harel Ben Zeev talks to "Globes" about she came to work at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, the Israeli economy and S&P Maalot.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich credit: GPO Yossi Zamir Israel's fiscal deficit narrows for fifth straight month

Record tax revenues and lower government spending due to the ceasefire and restrictions until the 2025 budget is passed have improved the fiscal deficit.

Ben Gurion Airport  credit: Shutterstock Ukraine war refugees skew Israel's migration figures

Many who left Israel in 2023 were recent arrivals from Ukraine and Russia - but even without them there was a large exit of the young and educated.

Bank of Israel credit: Shutterstock Israel's forex reserves jumped in February

Israel’s foreign exchange reserves at the end of February 2025 rose to $220.253 billion, an increase of $4.185 billion from their level at the end of January, the Bank of Israel reports.

Haifa Port  credit: Shlomi Yosef How Trump tariffs could benefit Israel

Israel's free trade agreement with the US makes it an attractive investment destination for companies seeking to preserve access to the US market.

Twitter Facebook Linkedin RSS Newsletters גלובס Israel Business Conference 2018