Wasn't sure where to put it but since Vodafone seems to have more on-net pricing options than our other 2 players I thought I'd start here.

Open question and discussion about on-net pricing and what effect it has on pricing - is it good for consumers or bad for consumers?

What can we learn from overseas experiences?

I use Vodafone and XT in conjuction on two phones - one for data and one for voice and TXTs. However I anticipated heavier than usual TXT usage this month so utilised the "TXT150" plan on XT for $6 for the first time since I joined.

All of a sudden I found myself in a situation where friends were reluctant to contact me because I was suddenly "off-net". I told my friend (who is on Vodafone post-paid and has TXT2000, as well as free calling minutes to VF mobiles) that he was welcome to call and TXT me on my Vodafone phone so as not to pay additional costs, and I would just continue to TXT him from the XT phone.

Ironically he doesn't even use a few hundred TXTs each month and was not aware of the TXT600 add-on for all-networks.

He wasn't the only friend in such a position, and eventually my friends decided that I could still be friends with them because I had a Vodafone phone that they could contact me on (cheaply).

Which lead me to wonder - does this on-net pricing help consumers? Sure it means that husbands and wives can have a hotline to each other, but does that really encourage lower prices? Or is Bestmate and on-net pricing simply going to drive a culture of unusual usage patterns in NZ? Much like the way NZers usually TXT rather than call because of the history of disparity between very cheap TXTs but very expensive calling?

Now that we are so used to this TXT culture it seems impossible to turn it around. Will on-net pricing go the same way such that NZers would complain if they are no longer able to call their husbands and wives constantly for one low fixed cost?

I would be interested to know more