Telecom increase second line pricing by 22%. Looks like shooting themselves in the foot.

Forums › Spark New Zealand › Telecom increase second line pricing by 22%. Looks like shooting themselves in the foot.

Spong

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Topic # 138822 17-Jan-2014 17:13

Just received a letter from Telecom today to let us know that our second domestic phone line pricing will increase from $37.43 to $45.75 per month, an increase of approx 22%. No justication given and Telecom won't budge on this.

I thought the cost of telecommunications was reducing.

This looks like a very silly idea from Telecom when there are so many alternatives to a POTS line available, e.g. I could get all those calls diverted to my 2 Degrees mobile for $20 mth, or a VOIP option bundled with broadband and lots of extra with Orcon for not much more.
In the meantime, I've closed the second line and put diversion in place to my home business line for $2.50 month.

What are other good options, considering we could probably do without our second line altogether? Our first line is for the home business, but could be shared.

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Onward
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Reply # 969020 17-Jan-2014 17:21

That increase seem excessive, over 10 times the current inflation rate.

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Tk421nz

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Reply # 969025 17-Jan-2014 17:31

When you take into account Chorus probably don't charge Telecom any less for a second line it makes sense, not saying its the right thing for Telecom to do, but it makes sense

Yyrael

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Reply # 969033 17-Jan-2014 17:55

Tk421nz: When you take into account Chorus probably don't charge Telecom any less for a second line it makes sense, not saying its the right thing for Telecom to do, but it makes sense

Correct. We are also to my knowledge the only provider who offers this kind of deal.

Spong

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Reply # 969037 17-Jan-2014 18:06

Yyrael:
Tk421nz: When you take into account Chorus probably don't charge Telecom any less for a second line it makes sense, not saying its the right thing for Telecom to do, but it makes sense

Correct. We are also to my knowledge the only provider who offers this kind of deal.

Don't you mean you WERE the only provider to offer this deal, but no longer do?

NonprayingMantis

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Reply # 969038 17-Jan-2014 18:08

I expect they think that most people who have a second line would have switched to cheaper alternatives by now if they wanted to.

Of course they might be wrong....

But then again, $37.50 makes eff all money anyway, so if you ditch your second line it's probably not a big deal for them.

yitz

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Reply # 969040 17-Jan-2014 18:12

Tk421nz: When you take into account Chorus probably don't charge Telecom any less for a second line it makes sense

Telecom operate HomeLine themselves it's not wholesaled from Chorus, the only input they pay Chorus is some sort of UCLL-equivalent fee which is $19 or something.

Yyrael

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Reply # 969045 17-Jan-2014 18:21

Spong:
Yyrael:
Tk421nz: When you take into account Chorus probably don't charge Telecom any less for a second line it makes sense, not saying its the right thing for Telecom to do, but it makes sense

Correct. We are also to my knowledge the only provider who offers this kind of deal.

Don't you mean you WERE the only provider to offer this deal, but no longer do?

Yes.

Yyrael

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Reply # 969046 17-Jan-2014 18:25

yitz:
Tk421nz: When you take into account Chorus probably don't charge Telecom any less for a second line it makes sense
Telecom operate HomeLine themselves it's not wholesaled from Chorus, the only input they pay Chorus is some sort of UCLL-equivalent fee which is $19 or something.

Yes we own the back haul but we still pay for the line rental, I'm not sure of what we pay and imagine it wouldn't be publically available as its commercially sensitive. Regardless the point still stands, the price for a first or second phone line is no different to Chorus

NonprayingMantis

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Reply # 969048 17-Jan-2014 18:27

yitz:
Tk421nz: When you take into account Chorus probably don't charge Telecom any less for a second line it makes sense
Telecom operate HomeLine themselves it's not wholesaled from Chorus, the only input they pay Chorus is some sort of UCLL-equivalent fee which is $19 or something.

They pay averaged rates, so it's more like $24. When you take gst off the $37.50, and account for the cost of actually maintaining the plan, selling it, other overheads etc it probably makes very little or even nothing at $37.50

coffeebaron

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Reply # 969051 17-Jan-2014 18:31

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Fully featured WxC VoIP line = $11.50 per month.

Chorus has spent $1.4 billion on making their xDSL broadband network faster. If your still stuck on ADSL or VDSL, why not spend from $150 on a master filter install to make sure you are getting the most out of your connection?
I install - Naked DSL, DSL Master Splitters, VoIP, data cabling and general computer support for home and small business.
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surfisup1000

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Reply # 969076 17-Jan-2014 19:42

Telecom were awful under Theresa Gattung, got a bit better after she left, but, they are on the downward slide again.

There are lots of things going on, not just this. Look at UFB, Telecom are really slow to market even with their vast resources.

traderstu

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Reply # 969080 17-Jan-2014 19:53

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Fully featured 2Talk VoIP line = $6.90 per month and includes 2000 local minutes. Lots of options in this space. Is Telecom heading the same way as NZPost? Gone by lunch-time?

Spong

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Reply # 969089 17-Jan-2014 20:26

coffeebaron: Fully featured WxC VoIP line = $11.50 per month.

This looks very interesting, with minimal hardware costs, i.e. Cisco SPA122 for around $70+ GST. How's the reliability and call quality?

Do you know what "Local Calling" means with World Exchange? I'm in Mairangi Bay, and feel ripped when having to pay Telecom toll rates to call Hibiscus Coast (less than 20km away) which I feel should be a local call.

old3eyes

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Reply # 969092 17-Jan-2014 20:40

KiwiNZ: That increase seem excessive, over 10 times the current inflation rate.

They've been learning from the power companies and local councils..

Regards,

Old3eyes

mattwnz

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Reply # 969093 17-Jan-2014 20:42

When I used to have a second line, they updated the price yearly, so the 22% rise wouldn't likely be a catchup for years where it didn't go up would it?

It does look like they are updating pricing and changing things across most services at the moment. Probably a good time to see what the competion are offering. I have been very happy with them as an ISP, but will be reviewing my arrangements in the next few months to see what else is out there. They were really price competitive for the last few years, but not sure if things have changed, and there isn't better value in their other brands like skinny and their new low cost ISP brand big pipe, where they are instead focusing their deals.

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