Vodafone Cook Islands staff Brianna Tauira, right, and Liz Taivairanga showing off the new company logo. 20011418.

Cook Island’s telecommunication service will no longer be called Bluesky as vendors know it.

As of today, Bluesky will now operate under the name Vodafone Cook Islands.

Phillip Henderson, the company chief executive officer, says the service is ditching its name in a new effort to be more recognised.

“From our perspective as a really small operator, even in a regional context, it’s very hard for Bluesky to knock on the door of a vendor and go ‘knock, knock, knock’ and the vendor goes ‘Who are you? Bluesky who?’ But the brand Vodafone will open the doors for us.”

Bluesky Cook Islands, partly owned by Fiji’s Amalgamated Telecom Holdings, is the first Bluesky branch in the Pacific to undergo the rebrand.

Under a sub-licensing agreement with Vodafone Fiji, ATH’s other telco companies in Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga and Kiribati are expected to undergo the same rebrand later this year.

“We’re the first and I think it’s very much a try out and see,” Henderson said.

“And I’m confident we’re going to be successful. There’s no doubt we will. We value the brand and we will do it the service that it deserves.”

Customers in Rarotonga have welcomed the rebranding with the hope the change would mean cheaper and efficient service.

Nikao resident Joyita Tevita said “Bluesky changing its name to Vodafone is all good but will the quality of the internet and services going to be the same? We need more plans like unlimited Wi-Fi and faster network.”

Phillip Henderson said the brand itself would not see an immediate drop in costs for customers.

However he said it would give access to cheaper source and product as well as packaged deals for products.

“We’ve now been able to sell the premium device at the same price as in New Zealand. If you buy a Note 10 plus, it’s the same price as the big three in New Zealand - Vodafone, 2dgress and Spark. We sell it at the same price. On our own, we never got those sorts of deals.

“We were treated as an afterthought as a price point that is probably 10 per cent higher than what Vodafone Fiji would get with none of the bundles and we’d get delivery charged to us so we would be the last cab off the rank.”

Deputy Prime Minister Mark Brown, who is also the minister responsible for telecommunication, said the rebrand was expected to provide improved services and better prices for consumers.

“The Cook Islands will now have globally recognised brand as its service provider and I think that can only be positive for the Cook Islands,” said Brown.

“It will now be up to the company to convince its customers by providing better service and cheaper prices for its products.”

In addition, Brown said the company would also be able to provide services utilising the Avaroa cable which is expected to be up and running by May.

“I look forward to what the new brand will bring to our customers.”

Henderson said the biggest issue were people’s perception of internet and data prices being too expensive however with the cable now connected, they hope wholesale prices may be reduced.

Vodafone Cook Islands will introduce itself to the customers in a family fun day and roadshow to be held today at Te Atukura Grounds from 10am to 2pm.