Have OVIVO gone bust?

leadhead

Daz2009 wrote: »

Funny thing is I can still receive calls/texts but I can't do the reverse

Just noticed this about Ovivo, and read your post...I can still receive as well......or is this normal

Ive been with Ovivo for about a year now, so can't complain, as not paid anything but my initial fee for the sim.....Sad, but not angry.

marks7389

marvin wrote: »

I don't think this is cashflow problem from the links others have posted here and elsewhere. It seems more likely they had their service withdrawn by the service provider and this caused them to stop functioning.

They had a funding round which ended on the 17th seen nothing to indicate this was not successful but there are indications that a contract was ended or that a contractor indicated that they could not fulfil the obligations under it and this made Ovivo less of a going concern and to protect investors (this has to be their primary responsibility not customers) they stopped trading with immediate effect.

That is also my reading of the situation. Whilst ad funded businesses clearly can and do operate successfully, Ovivo has struggled to make it work as they planned to at the outset. The original ad mechanism was too easily worked around, leading to a big reduction in allowances and one point and a period of ads being sent by email.

That was resolved last year, but it sounds as though the dispute with Cognatel was around technologies that would have made the advertising more targeted/effective. Given the events of this week, the failure to deliver that was clearly fatal to the business model.

It's interesting that the only other example of an ad funded mobile service that I'm aware of (the data only Samba mobile) requires you to earn credits by viewing ads in order to use the service. Given the technical constraints that may be the only way of making it work sustainably.

den169

My god theres some morons posting on here about scams cash grabs etc.Its a laugh reading some of the moronic posts.

redux

marks7389 wrote: »

It's interesting that the only other example of an ad funded mobile service that I'm aware of (the data only Samba mobile) requires you to earn credits by viewing ads in order to use the service. Given the technical constraints that may be the only way of making it work sustainably.

Yes, and in effect the usage is more like pre-paid (the ad has been watched, the credit is earned) whereas Ovivo has been more speculative on how many will be watched.

buglawton

Three probably has a big backlog of PACs from Ovivo to process right now.

d123

buglawton wrote: »

Three probably has a big backlog of PACs from Ovivo to process right now.

It's all on a centralised computer system now (the name escapes me). I wouldn't think there is much delay (one of mine was put though between 4:30-4:45 yesterday and was already in process first thing this morning (the Three sim was already presenting the ported CLI on outgoing calls).

buglawton

thop wrote: »

Some of you may be interested to know that the small mobile provider "Kontakt" are trying to entice ex-Ovivo customers with a "free SIM" with £20 credit a free monthly allowance for 12 months. It's only sufficient for light use and it's worth reading their terms (some details only come out in the small print) but their rates are quite reasonable even if you go over the free allowance and the risk is low with the nil up-front cost. Not quite as good a deal as Ovivo but probably more sustainable!

You need to like them on Facebook, share a post on your page and fill in a simple form.

Not got any experience so can't comment yet, but I have ordered a free SIM.

I want to provide a link but not allowed as a new user, so here it is if you want to piece it together (replace square bracketed parts):
https........

Probably an affiliate link or could the link lead to malware?
If Kontakt was genuine they'd have a sensible web page link with Kontakt in the domain name.

buglawton

marks7389 wrote: »

.....

That was resolved last year, but it sounds as though the dispute with Cognatel was around technologies that would have made the advertising more targeted/effective. Given the events of this week, the failure to deliver that was clearly fatal to the business model.

....

Interesting. I always wondered why the ads were so general and not leveraging the great opportunity for lifestyle and geo targeting that was technically possible.

Ovivo were actually onto something and if ever a phoenix rises from the ashes under a different name and slightly different funding model, the punters are going to be very mistrustful indeed, not due to the closedown but the abrupt way it was done, leaving people's phones stranded one morning.

John_Stone

A great shame they have gone

from https://www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk/

Dispute over network software led to abrupt closure of network yesterday evening (March 20)
Ovivo Mobile was terminated by MVNA Cognatel following an alleged dispute over network software that would have allowed the MVNO to uniquely identify each user, Mobile News understands.
It is believed that Cognatel was contractually obliged to deliver the software but had failed to do so. Uniquely identifying each user was essential to the operator’s service which provided free airtime, texts and data in exhange for agreeing to being targeted by marketing materials.
Furthermore, it also understood that Ovivo Mobile had been withholding cash from the Vodafone MVNA as part of the dispute and it was this that led to the plug being pulled at short notice yesterday.
Customers of the operator are furious at the sudden nature of the cessation of their connectivity although the value of money owed is likely to be very little due to the ‘advertiser-funded nature’ of the service.
The firm said last month it had sent out 50,000 SIMs (it didn’t say how many were active) and was in the process of raising £3 million in financing but the reputational damage means it will close permanently.
Ovivo Mobile and Cognatel were unavailable when contacted by Mobile News earlier today while Vodafone refused to comment on the story.

marks7389

buglawton wrote: »

Probably an affiliate link or could the link lead to malware?
If Kontakt was genuine they'd have a sensible web page link with Kontakt in the domain name.

They do: https://www.kontaktmobile.co.uk/

It's clearly aimed at Polish ex-pats. I can't see anything about the 125mins/month free calls on there, though that may simply be more targeted hence the affiliate link.

The design of the site though is pretty poor, making it difficult to get a view of what their offer is really like. If data is 8p/MB or £5/month as appears to be the case it's appeal may be limited for most Smartphone owners.