Bundling Is All About Confusion
from the a-little-sleight-of-hand... dept
The latest focus in the telecom world is all about offering consumers "bundles" of services. The telecom providers, of course, pitch these bundles as beneficial to consumers - allowing them to get all the services wrapped up in a single bill. However, some are saying that the benefit to consumers is minimal. Instead, the real benefit is that these bundles make it very difficult for consumers to compare services. None of the bundles offered are exactly alike, and thus consumers are forced to make choices based on features as well as price, instead of price alone. They say that the telecom companies are purposely setting up the bundles to not be comparable to generate this confusion and inability to directly compare. Telecom companies are also realizing that once they've got you locked into a bundle, you're more likely to stay. Whereas changing just your long distance provider wasn't a big deal, when that involves completely revamping all your connectivity services, it becomes a bigger hassle.
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