Folks in New Zealand have been patiently awaiting their 3rd mobile phone carrier to go live. There have been some delays for sure, and now, the new carrier NZ Communications has made one more move ahead of launch. They’ve rebranded themselves ‘2degrees’ ahead of the scheduled launch in August of this year.
The rebranding is actually quite clever when you consider the ‘6 degrees of separation’ theory. From Cellular News:
The theory ‘6 degrees of separation’ describes the idea that every human on the planet is connected in 6 steps. Through advancements in mobile phone technology, people are able to connect more often and in different ways, reducing the degrees of separation. Due to the size and close knit nature of our culture, New Zealand enjoys one of the shortest social distances in the world, closer to 2 degrees than 6. The new brand pays homage to the closeness of Kiwi connections.
Hopefully the addition of a 3rd carrier to the country will help drive down very expensive cell costs in the country. Competition is a good thing, healthier competition even better. I’m hoping the end result will be lower prices for the Kiwi consumer.
Note: Interesting. Their logo is the exact opposite of O2’s logo. Check it out.