DISCOUNT RETAILER LIDL has closed its new €8.99 “for life” mobile contract offer after reaching 100,000 sign-ups earlier than expected.

Any customers signing up from today onwards will be charged €12.99 per month, equivalent to the offer from other budget providers such as GoMo and Clear Mobile.

Lidl said uptake of the deal – which launched two and a half weeks ago – showed the “significant demand” among Irish consumers for good value mobile provision.

Lidl had said it would keep the €8.99 deal open until the end of the year or until 100,000 people availed of it.

Strong brand awareness among Irish consumers may have helped Lidl to penetrate the mobile market quickly. When GoMo launched with a similar deal for its first 100,000 customers in October 2019, it did not cut it off until January 2020. At the time, Gomo said it was on track for 100,000 sign-ups by Christmas 2019.

Competition

Lidl’s offer of unlimited calls, texts and data, including 5G, for its first 100,000 customers for €8.99 has shaken up the Irish budget mobile provider market.

In recent days, another low-cost service, 48 Mobile, has rolled out 5G to its customers on cheap legacy plans in an apparent bid to stave off an exodus to Lidl.

Customers were told they would get 5G – faster wireless internet – by 31 October.

Until now, customers on 48 Mobile’s legacy €7.99 plan were using 4G internet. New sign-ups to 48 Mobile contracts including 5G have recently been charged €9.99 for six months and €12.99 thereafter, plus a €9.99 sign-up fee.

On online messaging forums and on 48 Mobile’s support page over the past fortnight, 48 Mobile customers on the old 4G plans have discussed switching to Lidl, noting that for an extra €1 per month they would gain 5G.

In the comments under one 48 Mobile advertisement on Facebook promoting its current €9.99-12.99 plan, people have weighed in to point out that Lidl’s deal is cheaper.

It comes after GoMo also rolled out 5G to its customers on cheaper legacy plans this month.

Both GoMo and Lidl are operating on the Eir network, while 48 Mobile is on the Three network. 

In a statement to The Journal, 48 Mobile said it was “delighted” to roll out 5G to all its customers. It said this would mean faster speeds and better value at no extra cost to its users.

The 5G access will be automatically applied, with rollout completed by the end of this month, it added.