Give Us The Bundles

Predictions

from the bundle-love,-it's-driving-me-crazy dept

Phone customers can’t get enough of wireless-wireline bundles, a new survey says. A third of those surveyed want a combined voice offering, while just 18 percent have one now. While bundles are proving popular with consumers, the bigger shift over the next few years will be convergence — having services that are actually combined, rather than just combining services on a single bill. People’s interest in keeping a landline is receding, but a converged fixed-mobile solution offers lots of benefits: a single device with a single number that combines the ubiquity of mobile service with the cost benefits of fixed VoIP. There’s a lot driving this forward: deals between wireless operators and fixed broadband providers, and a growing number of startups looking to supply the systems needed to route calls over disparate networks. One analyst says the converged market will be held back until there are standards upon which to base the systems, but the Unlicensed Mobile Access spec already exists, and is in use in BT’s Bluephone product as well as other operator trials.