amaysim acquires Jeenee Mobile, ends "Make a Difference" phone plan donation program

amaysim today announced its acquisition of fellow Optus MVNO, Jeenee Mobile, for $7.8 million. The Jeenee brand will be phased over the next six months, with all customers set to migrated to amaysim's sister brand, Vaya.

While the Jeenee brand will still be around for another six or so months, amaysim is already making changes. As of today, Jeenee's "Make a Difference" program has been ended, along with the discounted phone plans it made available for seniors and Australians living with disabilities. 

As part of its Make a Difference program, Jeenee used a portion of its profits to donate free mobile services to individuals with disabilities. These donations typically amounted to a year of free access. Jeenee had been donating plans for several years. In March this year, the telco said it had donated over 200 plans over the life of the program.

amaysim Chief Strategy Officer Alex Feldman says this decision was made to simplify the number of plans Jeenee sells in market. However, in the short term, he says there won't be any changes for existing Jeenee Mobile customers, no matter plan they are on.

"Longer term, it’s important that we integrate Jeenee's business into our group. That means leveraging our existing systems and processes to manage Jeenee’s customers," said Feldman.

"Our plan is to ensure that all existing customers on the 'Make a Difference' plans - across disability and seniors - will be better off – with either more included value, lower prices or in some instances, both."

When it comes to donated plans, Feldman says amaysim is still working through "all the elements", but reiterated that every customer will continue with the service they have or better. 

Feldman also says there's less necessity for donated phone plans now, pointing to increased simplicity and affordability in the telco space. 

"Customers living with disabilities are able to fund their own services," said Feldman.

"For example, no new [donated plans] have been added for the last six months - the number of applications has totally dropped off. In saying that, we will always look at ways of supporting different segments of the community and will continue to analyse this over the next few months."

Feldman says the majority of customers who were previously on a donated service transitioned to a $10 per month plan after their 12 months were up.

The Make a Difference program was the reason Jeenee Mobile was founded as a business, with the company initially starting as a non-for-profit with a goal of helping people with disabilities access technology.

"Something as simple as being able to use a mobile phone can drastically improve a person’s life," read a previous version of the Jeenee website. "It's something that most of us take for granted but for a lot of people, especially those living with a disability, the idea of owning a mobile phone is often expensive or daunting. But the benefits that technology can offer are overwhelming, and over the years we’ve been lucky enough to witness the improvements it can make to so many peoples' lives."

Jeenee also used to run training programs as part of Make a Difference.

No other local telco has similar options when it comes to free or discounted phone plans for those living with disability. Vodafone is currently one of the few other telcos that offers a seniors discount on mobile plans. Telstra has a landline discount, however.

In addition, Jeenee Mobile was known for SIM-only plans that typically offered some of the best data-for-dollar value at their respective price-points. At this stage, Jeenee is still accepting new sign ups.

amaysim has yet to provide specifics regarding a transition plan for Jeenee Mobile customers. However, since both Jeenee and amaysim are powered by the Optus network, coverage and connectivity won't change. 

amaysim is currently Australia's fourth largest mobile provider, and the country's biggest MVNO. The purchase of Jeenee is set to add a further 41,700 customers to the business.

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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