TELECOMS & MOBILE
NewTel looks forward to Pure future
06-09-2007
by Charlie Taylor
As many as 40 new jobs will be created following Pure Telecom's EUR1.1 million acquisition of NewTel Communications.
Pure Telecom, which was established in 2002 by Paul O'Connell and Alan McGonnell, said it has paid an initial EUR900,000 to NewTel's Australian parent company Orion Telecommunications, with a deferred payment of EUR200,000 to follow at a later date.
Under the terms of the agreement, Pure will acquire NewTel's customer base of 12,000 subscribers, as well as its Citywest-based call centre and staff.
At present, NewTel employs approximately 20 staff while Pure Telecom has 22 employees. Pure director Paul O'Connell told ENN that 40 new jobs will be created at an Irish-based call centre following the firm's decision to outsource some of its functions.
Pure said the acquisition would enable it to increase its yearly turnover by as much as EUR8.5 million, leading to potential revenues of more than EUR15 million.
NewTel was established in Ireland in 1999 by Orion Telecommunications, and the Irish operation, which also looked after customer service, billing, provisioning and collections for Orion's UK division, was its biggest subsidiary in terms of revenue.
Pure Telecom said it will operate NewTel under its existing brand name due to the loyalty it has gained over the years. Such loyalty was severely tested earlier this year, however, when telecoms regulator ComReg investigated NewTel for 'cold-calling' customers.
O'Connell was keen to put NewTel's past behind him and said that such tactics were not acceptable. "To be honest, a number of telecom companies have all been investigated and found guilty with regard to 'slamming' of customers. From my perspective, I will fire an employee for doing such a thing -- there's no excuses," he said. "I draw a line under what's happened in the past. Hands-up, NewTel were found guilty in the past -- but under Pure Telecom, I wouldn't see such a thing repeating itself under any circumstance."
Looking ahead, O'Connell said that Pure had recently signed a re-seller agreement with a mobile operator which would allow it to offer mobile services under its own brand.
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