4 June 2007
BT claims to be cutting up to 20% off consumers' phone bills in a move which is sure to kick-off a new price war in the telecommunications industry.
By upgrading from BT's Option 1 package to Options 2 or 3, BT claims its customers could benefit from 34 million worth of collective savings. This marks the second round of price cuts from BT in the past ten months, putting pressure on rivals to slash their prices too.
Due to be up and running by August 1st, BT's customers will notice immediate reductions to the Option 2 and 3 package charges by 13% and 20% respectively, but there will also be an 8% increase in the price of daytime calls.
Steve Weller, Head of Communication Services at the price comparison and switching website uSwitch.com, said that it was good to see BT challenging its rivals for customer loyalty.
"Enticing customers into its inclusive packages will place BT in a stronger position to fight off the competition, although it won't be long before competitors such as TalkTalk adjust their tariffs to remain competitive," said Mr Weller.
He also had a word of warning for BT's current customers though, stressing that if they are one of the 11.4 million customers on Option 1, they could find their bills increasing from August, with daytime calls rising by 0.25 pence per minute and set-up call charges doubling to six pence per minute.
Looking to the future, Mr Weller said that it would be beneficial for telecommunications providers like BT to begin offering deals on calls to mobile phones and 0870 or 0845 numbers, since they were becoming "increasingly prolific" in consumers' telephone calls.
© 2008 Adfero Ltd
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