Most of us know by now that combining your Home Phone and Broadband services into one bundle can save you a few dollars on your monthly Telecommunication bill, but how much can you save? Furthermore, did you know that it doesn't stop there either, because now you can bundle other services such as Pay TV and Mobile Phone plans into the same bundle which can effectively save you even more.
Firstly, some providers offer deals, incentives and special offers such as monthly discounts, free monthly (or reduced) plan fees and equipment cost reductions for bundling services other than just a Home Phone plan. These days its not uncommon to see a Pay TV Package or Broadband Bundle that consists of Home Phone Landline Rental, a Broadband Plan and a Mobile Phone Cap all rolled into one. Typical savings on bundling one extra service could start at around $10 per month or a small discount to the value of 5%. Telstra currently offer rewards (discounts) when you bundle Pay TV with a Home Phone and Mobile Phone product. This package type is also referred to as 'Triple Play'. Basically, the more you bundle, the more discounts you may be entitled to.
Pay TV is not the only service to offer savings by bundling. Since Telstra were forced by the ACCC to lower access prices to their copper infrastructure (telephone lines) in 2008, it opened the doorway for yet another avenue of cost savings using ADSL Broadband delivery referred to as 'Naked DSL'. This form of Internet service essentially incorporated a small cost for the landline component into the Broadband plan price and thus alleviated the need to rent a separate dedicated phone line just for the sake of getting an ADSL service.
Now days a vast amount of phone junkies are using mobile phones as their preferred method of voice communication. Many of these types of consumers have home or mobile broadband access and don't require a dedicated home phone service any longer. The other niche for the growing popularity of Naked DSL is a 'VoIP' option that replaces the traditional Home Phone service. VoIP is driving the 'budget conscious' consumer away from line rental in droves to the cheaper alternative of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) aka Broadband Phone offerings.
Smaller to intermediate Internet Service Providers have started to sell Naked DSL plans with a VoIP service included. Fees for this type of service, along with call rates, are typically a fraction of the price compared to that of traditional PSTN anolog Home Phone services. As a result of this migration, it gives those who take up VoIP a great opportunity to save a significant amount of money by bundling it with broadband and cutting loose Home Phone line rental.
Here is a cost effective example of saving $$$ by switching to VoIP: Home Phone line rental can cost the average punter around $30 or $40 per month before they even make a call. This is just for the privilage of renting a landline. In comparison, a VoIP service is usually a free bonus that's included with a Naked DSL plan, otherwise it might carry a $10 or so surcharge. Then there's phone call rates. You should obviously know what you spend on your phone calls right? Does $30, $40 or maybe $60 a month come close? For some this might be excessive, for others who have a larger communication appetite, these figure could be peanuts!
OK, what about VoIP then? Try free local calls on for size, how about free national calls and in some cases free International calls to landline numbers along with competitive mobile call rates. Mobile Phone calls aside, it's not unusual to see free VoIP calls as an added bonus when purchasing a accompanying a Broadband Plan. If not, they will usually only cost you about 5 or 10 cents each as local and national calls are generally 'untimed'. International calls to landlines (using VoIP) to most major countries range from about 3 to 5 cents per minute. Yes, your reading this correctly!
I'd easily put a conservative estimation on a phone service savings of around $100 per month per for the average family? Remember this figure is hypothetically based and doesn't take into account the cost of calls to mobile phones and in some cases, calls to special phone numbers. The numbers are all out there, it's just up to you to find the plans and compare them yourself.
So here's a reasonable scenario to save you heaps in my opinion! Firstly, you need to consider if VoIP is for you? An Internet Phone services isn't for everyone and although the voice quality is reasonable these days, there are still elements of inadequate reception such as interference, and above all, the you NEED to take into consideration the fact that if your broadband connection goes down, so will your VoIP phone connection! There maybe other FAX and Home Alarm incompatibilities to be aware of as well.
If you're still keen on saving that hard earned cash, then read on. Step One: Crunch the numbers of your Telecommunication bills. This includes Line Rental, Local, National & International Calls to Landlines only (include connection fees/flag falls as VoIP services do not usually charge for this). Now add the cost of your Broadband Plan into the equation. Step Two: Once you've worked out your total, you should then start to browse Broadband Providers who offer Naked DSL and VoIP services and compare their Broadband & VoIP Plans (including call rates) against your other current Telecommunication total. *Keep in mind that you don't need to rent a landline if you have Cable Internet too, as VoIP can run over this type of Broadband service also.
In a nutshell, there's several elements to consider when it comes to saving money on your monthly Telecommunication bills. These are: The feasibility of bundling multiple services together and whether the discounts for such outweigh all the respective costs as opposed to an alternative competitor; Secondly, there's the compatibility and value of VoIP over a traditional Home Phone service. Is VoIP for you? Or possibly an easier solution might be to simply do away with your home phone/ line rental altogether by purchasing a Naked DSL or Cable Internet plan and make all your phone calls via your mobile phone.