Dutch telecoms group KPN has made an agreement with Bankinter through which the Spanish bank will offer mobile phone services at special rates to its banking clients, Bankinter said on Tuesday. The deal will piggyback the network of France Telecom's Orange in Spain, Bankinter said, as KPN does not have its own network there.
KPN said earlier this month it was in talks with several potential partners, including broadband operator Jazztel regarding plans to enter the Spanish market. KPN had been planning to offer a service in Spain and was looking for a virtual mobile partner, with which it would buy excess capacity from another operator.
A spokesman for KPN said he could not confirm the Bankinter deal. The Spanish boutique bank which prides itself on its up-to-the-minute technology, will offer its clients phone services via a SIM card which will be billed after calls are made.
The service will offer simple and competitive tariffs and the possiblity of carrying out complex financial transactions, the bank said. Spain's mobile phone sector has become more competitive in the last year with the arrival of a fourth operator with its own licence as well as the launch of several virtual operators who operate via bigger networks such as those of Telefonica and Vodafone.