Posted: 13th Aug, 2008 By: MarkJ
Point Topic has revealed that, worldwide, bundled broadband services often work out being cheaper than a simple standalone connection, especially in the competitive environment of Western Europe.
The average price of a double play broadband package with
VoIP was £25.17 ($47.83), down almost 30% from £35.87 ($68.16) in the previous quarter, while the average cost of its IPTV counterpart was up almost 20% from £31.97 ($60.75) to £38.27 ($72.73). This compares to the average standalone tariff of £29.71 ($56.45) per month:
Ultimately ISPs want customers, and they want customers who generate revenue, in particular they want growth in revenue. To achieve this they are going to have to hook into all aspects of communication and data transfer, whether its voice, video or plain bits, said Fiona Vanier, Senior Analyst.
A subscriber who takes more than one service from an ISP is more likely to stay with that provider. They are more likely to generate more revenue over their customer cycle than plain broadband subscribers and thats what the ISPs, and their shareholders, require, concludes Vanier.
Interestingly, when we asked readers in an October 2007 monthly survey whether they preferred a standalone package or bundle (
here), 77.3% (588) voted for standalone. Price isn't the only factor to consider and sadly many of the best ISPs still do not offer a bundled service.