It's weirdly difficult to avoid the “bundles” of cable, Internet and an archaic home phone line . Why? It's a sort of long con. (Oh, and old people love them.)
Source: www22.verizon.com
"We just wanted to make sure you were aware of this great deal," Time Warner Cable told my friend Susan for the fourth time in two days, calling her at work to encourage buying cable and a landline, when all she'd ordered was internet. On the fourth call, Susan said she was so frustrated that she finally yelled at the TWC robot on the other end of the line,"I have a cell phone and I watch TV on my computer, sorry."
Earlier this year Verizon decided to bundle its DSL broadband and basic cable with landline phone service, making Verizon the only internet service provider that requires customers to purchase its voice service as well (unless you opt for its higher-end FiOS internet service). TWC and Comcast don't force you to buy phone service, but they make it so economically advantageous to buy it in a bundle with cable and internet that it almost feels that way. All three companies offer package rates that heavily incentivize bundled phone deals by making them the same price or cheaper than standalone TV/internet services. For instance, a coworker tried to cancel her TWC phone service, but was told her bill would actually cost more each month if she did. And the same is true at Comcast — in some cases it can cost more to buy a TV/internet double play package than a triple pay setup, with TV, internet and phone. (Though prices vary by location, so your YMMV.)
For a younger generation of smartphone users, this clear push for home phones from cable companies and ISPs feels downright backwards, and seems illogical when research shows a continued decline in the number of households with landline phone service. So the constant prodding from companies like Verizon, Time Warner Cable and Comcast to lump landline phone service in with cable and Internet isn't just annoying, it's also kind of... odd.
But talk to any of the three major players and you'd think landlines are alive and well — the future, almost. "We still have millions of voice customers," Bob Elek, manager of media relations at Verizon, told me. "And when they can’t get their voice service, people are not very patient, even if they have a cell phone.” The same sentiments rang true when I talked to Charlie Douglas, Comcast's director of communications.
Comcast Triple Play
Source: comcast.com
Comcast Double Play
Source: comcast.com
View Entire List ›
No comments:
Post a Comment