Vodafone resurrects Otelo as no-frills reseller

U.K.-based Vodafone plans to bring back its German Otelo brand as a no-frills mobile product to steal market share from rivals and boost revenue, Reuters reports, according to TeleGeograph CommsUpdate.

Otelo was originally a joint venture between utility companies RWE and Veba, offering fixed line services. The company was acquired in 1999 by Mannesmann Arcor, and the following year Vodafone acquired the Mannesmann group, as well as a 73.6 percent stake in fixed line operator Arcor, for EUR180 billion.

Head of Vodafone Germany, Friedrich Joussen, said Otelo wants to compete with Netherlands-based KPN’s local unit E-Plus, which operates a number of low-priced brands including Simya and Base, as well as incumbent telco Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile Deutschland and Spanish-owned Telefonica O2 Germany.

The new brand will be sold online only this year.