ORCON's Free Home Phone Line Offer

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grant_k

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#15240 11-Aug-2007 11:11

For those of you who haven't already seen it, Orcon have a special offer running for the next 7 days:

http://www.orcon.net.nz/freehomeline/

Actually, the "Free" Home Phone Line is a bit of a misnomer. It isn't really free, but is still quite a good deal. Included services are:

* Home Phone Line Rental at no extra charge for 12 months (Telecom charge $43.60 for this)

* FS/FS Broadband with 20GB data cap (Orcon normally charge $59.95 for this)
EDIT: It is only FS/128kbps Broadband as pointed out by Ramsu below.

* Unlimited Landline-to-Landline calls (normally charged at $20)

PACKAGE PRICE: $79.95 per month

It's certainly quite a sharp price for what you get, but I just did the sums for my own case, and this is how it stacked up...

CURRENTLY, I have:

* Telecom TV Line (Line Rental + Sky Digital Start Up) $79.20
* Xnet old 2Mbps/128kbps/10GB plan with free National Traffic $42.95
* Average National Calls $8 per month

Current total cost per month (average): $130.15

If I switched to the Orcon bundle, it would cost:

* Orcon Special Offer $79.95
* Sky Digital Startup $47.73

Total Cost per month with Orcon: $127.68

i.e. a saving of $2.47 per month which is hardly worth it.

It has been an interesting exercise to go through the calculations, and there are sure to be new alternatives on the table once NDSL starts to arrive over the next 3 months. Orcon states in their press release that:

This amazing offer is available from Saturday the 11th of August for seven days, with 5000 free home lines available. Orcon will consider increasing the number available based on how New Zealand responds.

“We are excited about the future – and we want to share that with Kiwis. If the response from New Zealand is strong, if Kiwis knock down our door and support Orcon, then we will look at the option of releasing more free home lines in the future,” concluded Bartlett.

I'm guessing this is a ploy to lock in as many customers as possible prior to the arrival of NDSL. In this way, they will have a captive audience to market upcoming offers to. This is not an implied criticism on my part. In fact, it's quite a smart marketing strategy which is part of the "Land Grab" currently going on in the NZ ISP market.

CONCLUSION:
Wait and see what other more tempting offerings are on the table during the lead-up to NDSL.

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#81989 11-Aug-2007 12:06

GREAT offer though and priced with very realistic and attractive options.

20GB, good all round data plan too.
$20 for "unlimited tolls" (Orcon limits calls to 1 hour instead of two hours)

Hmm.. this is tempting.

Ramsu

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#81992 11-Aug-2007 12:25

Yes it is tempting.... BUT, its only MAX down, and 128k up, for the broadband.

I just found out when I went to check the Orcon site for my data usage.

I currently have a max/max 15GB orcon plan ($59.95), and homeline ($44.95).
So paying $104.90 per month.

If this new "Talker Surfer" plan included max/max speed broadband, I'd jump at the chance.
Would save $24.95 per month, and get an additional 5gb of traffic. (20 vs 15).

Unfortunately I need max upload speed when working from home, uploading large files, remote access, etc.

grant_k

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#81996 11-Aug-2007 12:30

Ramsu: Yes it is tempting.... BUT, its only MAX down, and 128k up, for the broadband.

Are you sure about that?

The Orcon web site says:

20GB of Broadband, as fast as your line can download, worth $59.95

Admittedly, it's a little ambiguous but the MAX down/128kbps plan with 20GB of data is cheaper than $59.95 isn't it?

I clicked on the MAX/MAX plan and then added in 20GB of data and it came to $59.95.

Correct me if I'm wrong here...

Ramsu

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#81998 11-Aug-2007 12:35

grant_k:
Ramsu: Yes it is tempting.... BUT, its only MAX down, and 128k up, for the broadband.

Are you sure about that?

The Orcon web site says:

20GB of Broadband, as fast as your line can download, worth $59.95

Admittedly, it's a little ambiguous but the MAX down/128kbps plan with 20GB of data is cheaper than $59.95 isn't it?

I clicked on the MAX/MAX plan and then added in 20GB of data and it came to $59.95.

Correct me if I'm wrong here...

Yip, MAX down / 128k up. See here: http://www.orcon.net.nz/freehomeline_signup/

Orcon don't actually currently have a MAX down / 128k plan with 20GB of data.

They have MAX / 128k with 15GB for $49.95
And have MAX / 128k with 30GB for $69.95.

So this new plan is directly related to this "Talker Surfer" special.

grant_k

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#81999 11-Aug-2007 12:42

Ramsu: Yip, MAX down / 128k up. See here: http://www.orcon.net.nz/freehomeline_signup/

Cheers Ramsu, I see it now.

So, it's not such a good deal as I first thought. Oh well...

nzmodel

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#82009 11-Aug-2007 15:55

Interesting debate. (Don't think its fair how you can include SkyDigital Start up cost in your pricing evaluation, but I guess thats your savings)

Here is how much money I have saved by switching to this free 5000 home line deal (http://www.orcon.net.nz/informme/service,blog/category,85/item,416/)

Currently I am with Telecom and Xtra Broadband.

Line Rental (wiring and maintenance): $44
Broadband (10gig plan): $59.95
Average National Calls: $20

Total Cost = $123.95

Now with Orcon and this new Orcon Talker Surfer plan

Line rental (wiring and maintenance) $2.25
Broadband (20gig plan max/128kbps upload) + unlimited national calls per month: $79.95

Total Cost = $82.20

Total Savings from joining Orcon: $41.75 + 10GIG more to download!

Sweet! So as you can tell by being a previous Telecom and Xtra Broadband customer I have saved $41.75 from switching to Orcon.

The savings not only enticed me to join Orcon but they seem to have the infastructure and 100% kiwi owned attitude to go far. The speed at which they will install their own equipment to deliver us with maximum speeds should be faster than that of Xnet to. (Considering there was no mention of them in the news with Orcon and Ihug).

geekgirl

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#82011 11-Aug-2007 16:13

Does anyone know if it is possible to port a landline number to an existing Orcon Homeline? I'm thinking about signing up for this deal, but will need to port a number from a secondary line (which I will be cancelling) in 2 weeks time.

The Orcon sales girl was completely confused by my question, and didn't even seem to understand the concept of Number Portability :/

I know I can port a number at the time I sign up with Orcon - but need to know if I can port a number that I have on another line at a later date.

Claire

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Shop now on AliExpress (affiliate link).

LennonNZ

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#82024 11-Aug-2007 17:32

geekgirl: Does anyone know if it is possible to port a landline number to an existing Orcon Homeline? I'm thinking about signing up for this deal, but will need to port a number from a secondary line (which I will be cancelling) in 2 weeks time.

The Orcon sales girl was completely confused by my question, and didn't even seem to understand the concept of Number Portability :/

I know I can port a number at the time I sign up with Orcon - but need to know if I can port a number that I have on another line at a later date.

Claire

If I read right you have a second Telecom phone line. Just apply for the service on your 2nd line and cancel the first line after the second line has been moved over to Orcon.

Thanks

geekgirl

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#82025 11-Aug-2007 17:37

No actually, my 2nd line is a Woosh VoIP line which had a Telecom number ported onto it in April.

I just need to know if Orcon can handle porting a number onto an existing HomeLine (and if they charge to do so).

LennonNZ

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#82026 11-Aug-2007 17:54

geekgirl: No actually, my 2nd line is a Woosh VoIP line which had a Telecom number ported onto it in April.

I just need to know if Orcon can handle porting a number onto an existing HomeLine (and if they charge to do so).

At the moment Orcon is offering access on a Telecom Copper line with a Phone Number, but all you have is a "phone number" connected via VOIP to woosh which you call your "second line".

What you could do is ask Telecom to move you 2nd number to your existing Telecom line and then move that to Orcon after it is moved over.

Offering numbers ported to VOIP etc will be in the future.

Thanks

geekgirl

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#82032 11-Aug-2007 18:34

Erk. That's not going to work.

Here's my situation:

I have a Woosh VoIP line. I ported my Telecom number onto the Woosh line in April.

I'd like to sign up for Orcon's HomeLine deal (deal closes Friday), but I need to have an existing Telecom line to do so. The plan is to sign up for a new Telecom line, immediately transfer that to Orcon, and then once that's done (and broadband is set up), port the Woosh number onto the Orcon HomeLine.

I can't port the Woosh number onto the new Telecom line immediately, because Telecom takes 12 days (and charges $50) to port a number, which means I would be too late to take advantage of the current Orcon offer.

Phew. So, could I port the Woosh number onto the Orcon line in 2 weeks time?

grant_k

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#82034 11-Aug-2007 18:46

You have two issues to battle with here:

geekgirl: I'd like to sign up for Orcon's HomeLine deal (deal closes Friday), but I need to have an existing Telecom line to do so. The plan is to sign up for a new Telecom line, immediately transfer that to Orcon...

Do you really think it will be possible to get a new Telecom line installed and then sign up with Orcon before Friday?

If you have previously had a Telecom line at your property, it may be possible, but if it's a brand new connection which has never existed before, I would be extremely doubtful. Hopefully, you have had a line before...

geekgirl: So, could I port the Woosh number onto the Orcon line in 2 weeks time?

The time frame shouldn't be a problem. You just need to check with Orcon as to whether they accept "PORT IN" requests i.e. they are set up to port numbers FROM other providers.

Under the Number Portability legislation, all providers must comply with PORT OUT requests, but PORT IN is optional AFAIK. It would be best to call during business hours Mon-Fri when their more clued-up Tech. Support staff are available. During the weekend, you will probably only be able to get hold of the more junior staff.

Best of luck with it!
A bit of a tricky situation for sure.

geekgirl

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#82035 11-Aug-2007 18:49

grant_k:
Do you really think it will be possible to get a new Telecom line installed and then sign up with Orcon before Friday?

Yes I've checked, timeframe would be approx. 4 hours, as there has been a line here before.

The time frame shouldn't be a problem. You just need to check with Orcon as to whether they accept "PORT IN" requests i.e. will port numbers from other providers. It would be best to call during business hours Mon-Fri when their more clued-up Tech. Support staff are available. During the weekend, you will probably only be able to get hold of the more junior staff.

Yeah. I figured weekend staff might be a little less clued up. It is interesting to see how little telco staff know about number porting though.

Claire

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#82044 11-Aug-2007 19:54

grant_k:
Do you really think it will be possible to get a new Telecom line installed and then sign up with Orcon before Friday?

At the moment Orcon doesn't offer Number Portability, so you will have to get the line to a Telecom copper line before Orcon can take it over. In the future I presume they won't have any problem with what you want.

The time frame shouldn't be a problem. You just need to check with Orcon as to whether they accept "PORT IN" requests i.e. will port numbers from other providers. It would be best to call during business hours Mon-Fri when their more clued-up Tech. Support staff are available. During the weekend, you will probably only be able to get hold of the more junior staff.

They don't know much at the moment, as Orcon don't offer it at the moment. Number Portability is quite different than moving the copper/phone number to Orcon.

ictgeeknz

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#82085 12-Aug-2007 13:10

I signed up, I feel so LIBERATED!

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