The merits of bundled services have been debated for years, with telcos offering them, pulling back and saying consumers don't want them, and then offering them again. The trend now, of course, is the triple play, but Forrester Research says its surveys show that about 5 percent of subscribers actually buy bundled services and only about one-fourth of consumers are even interested in buying all of their services from one operator. Of course, telcos are pushing this because the more services you sell to one consumer, the harder it is for them to leave. But the main problem has always been the sticker-shock factor, despite the fact that operators are telling their customers they get a discount for bundling. Bills are packed with hidden fees, and it's virtually impossible for customers to actually interpret their bills. Integrated services in the future might sound like a cool idea, but there are certainly some fundamental business changes telcos have to make to create services appealing enough for the masses.
To read more about the bundling chaos phenomenon:
- check out this article from The Washington Post