Verizon Offers New Bundles To help retain landline customers This morning, Verizon announced several new bundles that incorporate wireless phone service. As with AT&T's recently announced Unity plan, the new bundles are aimed at stemming the loss of landline customers. Verizon lost some 366,000 landline customers last quarter, which amounts to nearly 4,000 disconnects per day. The bundle discounts range from $8 to $28 depending on how many services you bundle with a landline. From the press release: With Verizon Double Freedom, customers can choose from three combinations of services: Verizon's most popular unlimited calling plan known as Verizon Freedom Essentials coupled with Verizon high-speed Internet service (DSL up to 3 Mbps), with DIRECTV ® service billed through Verizon, or with an existing Verizon Wireless plan. Verizon Wireless customers must participate in Verizon's no-cost ONE-BILL ® program, which combines wireline and wireless charges on a single bill. Each two-service combination is priced from $64.99 to $74.99 a month, depending on the service area and the combination of services purchased. Discounts, which will appear as cumulative savings printed directly on customer bills, range from $7.99 to $14.99 a month for Double Freedom, depending on the market and the combination of services purchased.
Verizon Triple Freedom links a combination of the Freedom Essentials calling plan and Verizon high-speed Internet (DSL up to 3 megabits per second) with either an existing Verizon Wireless calling plan or DIRECTV service. Verizon Triple Freedom is priced from $94.99 to $104.99 a month, and savings range from $17.98 to $27.98 per month.
Verizon Ultimate Freedom combines all four services at prices from $134.99 to $144.99 a month with monthly savings of up to $27.97 a month. "Our new plans crack the code on simplicity and value," insists a Verizon VP.
|
 Reviews:
 ·Verizon FiOS
1 edit | guaranteed to confuse what they are really saying:
With Verizon Double Freedom, Verizon Triple Freedom and Verizon Ultimate Freedom, you'll be so confused, you'll never be able to compare our prices with the competition. We choose so you don't have to! And don't forget, the more services you choose, the less you save! | |
|  |  N3OGHYo Soy Col. "Bat" GuanoPremium
join:2003-11-11
Philly burbs
kudos:1 | Re: guaranteed to confuse I find it very confusing as well.
I all ready have 3 services from Verizon (Wireless, DSL, and 1 stripped down to the bone $16/mo land line for 911 and incoming calls), so I'll probably try and save a couple bucks a month with it.
How, I don't know.....
--
Never ask what sort of a computer a guy drives. If he's a Mac user, he'll tell you. If not, why embarrass him? -Tom Clancy | |
| | | | Must have consulted the MS Vista Pricing Guide... | |
| |  Romney2012Defeat Obama 2012-Chg we can believe inPremium
join:2002-03-03
USA
kudos:4
1 edit | The pkg'd prices are only good for 1 yr(in small faded print at bottom of page), when they will revert to standard prices. I went and checked out the "Double Freedom" wired/wireless plan at their web site.
--
--
My BLOG
My Web Page | |
| | | Reviews:
·Verizon FiOS
| Re: Only good for 12 months said by Romney2012:The pkg'd prices are only good for 1 yr(in small faded print at bottom of page), when they will revert to standard prices. I went and checked out the "Double Freedom" wired/wireless plan at their web site. good catch.
again, I think a primary purpose of these bundled packages is to make it very difficult to compare by price - these companies don't want to compete on price, but they want to appear to offer a better value when in many cases there is none. | |
|
 ColorBASIC8-bit FunPremium
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA | Lower the cost of options to keep customers Dump the $1.50 how dare I not want to be in the phonebook fee, $1.50 telemarketer (anonymous call) block fee and $7.50 for caller ID. POTS pricing is fine but just a few options like these can easily double the price making POTS 'overpriced'. I have the $10 metered POTS service and by the time they're done with taxes, fees and these few extra services my bill is closer to $30. That's not much cheaper than an economy cell plan and certainly more expensive than a lot of VoIP providers. | |
| ltt75
join:2001-01-22
Hollis, NH | what? I actually like having a metered landline. Mine comes to only $14/month with 60min local calling time. 99% of the time I just use my cell phone, but after some of those nasty ice storms that left us without power for 3+ days, wouldn't you know it... the landline was working perfectly the entire time and was quite helpful after my cell batteries died. | |
|  viperpa33sWhy Me?Premium
join:2002-12-20
Bradenton, FL | Verizon don't understand Verizon still don't get it, most people don't want there landline anymore. People wised up and don't want to pay for redundant services. The only reason why I still keep my basic landline for $8.88 a month is because I need it for my DSL. Other than that I would dump it. As the other poster said about fees, once you add up all the fees and taxes, that $28 savings will be no more. | |
| |  AMDUSERPremium
join:2003-05-28
Earth
kudos:1 | Re: Verizon don't understand Verizon does offer stand alone DSL as well, $35 for Dryloop 3 Meg / 768. | |
| | Reviews:
·Verizon FiOS
| said by viperpa33s:...The only reason why I still keep my basic landline for $8.88 a month is because I need it for my DSL. Other than that I would dump it. ... $8.88!!!! how you get it that low? Just getting a dial tone where I live is close to $15 and that's without the taxes. Maybe it has gone down, 'cause that was several years ago, but I doubt it. | |
| | | | | Re: Verizon don't understand said by nasadude:$8.88!!!! how you get it that low? In NJ, rates are low, but unlike the DC metro area where most of Montgomery County, PG County, DC and Northern VA are local calls, a short distance outside your home town in NJ and it's long distance.
If one has cable or FiOS, one has the option to forgo a landline and get VoIP plans with every imaginable feature, unlimited local and long distance calling for $25, about $30 with taxes and fees. Or one could get a stripped down, limited VoIP plan in the $10 to $15 neighborhood.
Any way Verizon packages it, landlines are overpriced for what you get, and they are just bandaging a dying service. | |
|
| viperpa33sWhy Me?Premium
join:2002-12-20
Bradenton, FL
1 edit | said by viperpa33s :
said by nasadude :
$8.88!!!! how you get it that low? Just getting a dial tone where I live is close to $15 and that's without the taxes. Maybe it has gone down, 'cause that was several years ago, but I doubt it. The $8.88 is the most basic service you can have. I have no long distance or toll service. I can make calls but it's only real local.
Just like the other poster said, just about every call here is a toll call. In just my area alone there is 2 area codes. I can't count how many prefixes there are, to many. | |
| | | | if you lived in west you can get dsl and not have to pay for a phone line for it | |
|
 kamm
join:2001-02-14
Brooklyn, NY | "Freedom"... ... is more than pathetic naming. | |
| | | | Re: "Freedom"... Indeed it is.
I've been a VZ Freedom customer for over a year, and the VZ Freedom package I subscribe to is certainly competitive pricewise with VoIP (which is why I've not been tempted in the least by either Vonage or SunRocket). | |
| | | Gres7
join:2001-03-05
Brooklyn, NY | Re: "Freedom"... Do you mind sharing how much is your total bill and what portion of it taxes/fees.
Reason I am asking is that I have
1 Landline $8
CallerID $8
Calls Placed $2
Taxes/fees $23
_______________
My bill $41
Would be really nice to know real bill number from "VZ Freedom " | |
|
| | VZ lost to competing VOIP`s lower monthly fees ~$10/month Why pay $40/month for local and long distance when others were paying very cheap for unlimited calls per month ??? | |
| | Reviews:
 ·Comcast
| Re: VZ lost to competing VOIP`s lower monthly fees ~$10/month Part of who VZ is losing customers to is....itself! A good portion of those landline drops aren't to VoIP (including Vonage or VZ's own BroadWing), but to Cingular/AT&T and to (mostly) VZW (VZW picked up over one million new numbers during 2006; how many of those are swaps from landlines?). In areas where VZ is free to offer long distance (especially as part of VZ Freedom), they are usually quite competitive pricewise with VoIP (the most common VZ Freedom package is $40/month, and it includes services unavailable with VoIP; also, unlike VoIP, it doesn't require a separate broadband service, from VZ or anyone else). Part of the reason other VoIP services are so inexpensive is that they aren't maintaining the pipeline they use (therefore, it's a cost they don't have); therefore, to compare apples to apples, part of the cost of the (required) broadband connection has to be factored in (when you do that, VZ Freedom doesn't sound like such a bad deal. | |
| | | | | Re: VZ lost to competing VOIP`s lower monthly fees ~$10/month said by PGHammer:...In areas where VZ is free to offer long distance (especially as part of VZ Freedom), they are usually quite competitive pricewise with VoIP (the most common VZ Freedom package is $40/month, and it includes services unavailable with VoIP; Another way to look at it is if you have broadband Internet service anyway, then Verizon Freedom packages are expensive, as you indicated, in the $40 range (is that pre-taxes?) because VoIP with every imaginable feature and unlimited local and LD are $25 per month, with taxes and fees bringing it up to under $30 per month. VoIP with limits can be had in the $10 to $15 range.
I would like to know what services Verizon Freedom packages offer that are not available with VoIP. | |
|
|  chotty
join:2004-07-12
Birmingham, AL | Landline info? I have Bellsouth landline (Local calling) in Birmingham, Al. About $50 a month!
Can anyone suggest a cheaper plan/ solution?
We use our cells fro LD and have RR 7mb cable.
Thanks!
Chotty | |
| | | | Re: Landline info? Look into VoIP; AT&T CallVantage, VoicePulse, ViaTalk, Vonage. Go to »/gbu for reviews and ratings of various VoIP companies. | |
|
 HarleyYacYacoPremium
join:2001-10-13
Allendale, NJ
kudos:1
·Optimum Online
·Verizon FiOS
| Another Problem they over looked Hi,
Just went through this yesterday. You MUST DEACTIVATE(CANCEL) your FIOS TV AND INTERNET to go back to a landline. This applies if you have no Phone service with them. Wait up to 3 DAYS for all three to be turned back on...
I'm not kidding!
Lee | |
| | | And soon they'll be losing another Its pretty sad when its 2007, and i cant even get DSL or cable. Its even sadder that last months bill from verizon was $500. Once my cell phone contract is up im switching over to cingular, or ATT what eve they wanna be called, getting wild blue and dropping my land line. Whats amazing to me tho, is how many of Verizons customers have been switching to cable and flipping them the bird. This is a good wakeup call for them to get FIOS rolling out faster, and offer cheaper landline prices. | |
|  ztmikeMark for moderationPremium
join:2001-08-02
Michigan City, IN | wth? I was confused with their offering to...im loving my comcast triple play..free long distance and all the goodies a phone offers | |
| | | | Re: wth? choosing between comcast and verizon for net services is like choosing between a child molester and a pederast for a baby sitter. | |
|
 roamer1sticking it out at you
join:2001-03-24
Atlanta, GA | Oops... VZ seems to have completely forgotten about FiOS customers. 
This is really no different than what BellSouth AT&T Southeast has been doing for some time now with its "Answers" bundles...it certainly isn't anything like Unity.
-SC
--
said to me: "it seems like all you ever buy is Abercrombie and cell phones"  | |
| Reviews:
·Optimum Online
·Verizon FiOS
| deal killer landline "POTS" fees are a big deal killer.. this is why Verizon loses the phone customers.. just about the ONLY good thing going for Verizon customers is the broadband/Internet.. TV adds high set-top rentals, franchise fees in addition to recent rate increases for both phone and tv service (2007)... Wireless only adds to the headache which are newly revised fee structures for ALL wireless plans.. so as deployments accelerate.. up-tick in landline and wireless will slow down in 2007.. Broadband (internet) and TV will have slow, but increasing success as the value gets better over time.. Verizon is just not committed to lowering the price of landlines and wireless, and that is just sad... and this fees/unfees disease might work their way into the TV as well.. | |
| | | | Re: deal killer Screw Verizon. I hope they lose some 1,000,000 landline customers this year. I'm glad I dropped them for Voip service. Keeps my wallet a bit thicker every month now. | |
|
 newviewEx .. Ex .. ExactlyPremium
join:2001-10-01
Parsonsburg, MD
kudos:1
 ·Vonage
 ·DIRECTV
| They lost this 20 year+ customer I just recently cancelled my Verizon local landline.
Why? Because it has no "value added" services.
1) I was paying $25.00 a month for a "no frills" line; no call-waiting, no call-forwarding, nothing.
2) They charged me $10.00 just to cancel my AT&T long distance, not change providers . . . just cancel!
3) I had a dial-up connection I "had" to use occasionally . . . it NEVER got a 56K connection . . . always 26.6 or less, been that way for 10 years.
4) They do NOT offer DSL in my area . . . although it's available a short distance from me. For two years I plugged my phone number into Verizon's "Check DSL Availability" form on their website, and always got the "Not Currently Available" answer.
5) Verizon techs I've spoken to at the gas pumps and grocery stores tell me that I'll probably NEVER see DSL available in my area.
6) I spoke to a Verizon tech support on the phone shortly before cancelling about the projected availability of FIOS in my area . . . her answer . . . probably about 10 years.
7) I received a letter (probably a form letter) from a Mr. Toby Frank, Director, Regional Marketing Verizon after I cancelled expressing "concern" over my decision to leave Verizon and touting their DSL service as a reason for me to consider coming back. Uh . . . Toby, Verizon doesn't offer DSL in my area . . . I would have thought a Director of Regional Marketing at Verizon would know that.
I now have Comcast HSI, DirecTV and Vonage.
I love Vonage & DirecTV and tolerate Comcast.
See 'ya in 10 years Verizon . . . maybe.
--
Ö¿Ö
The Rules of Spam | Maryland's Newest Anti-Spam Law
Where are we going? And what's with the hand basket? | |
|  Rob AJets AFC ChampionshipPremium
join:2005-01-17
Pompton Plains, NJ | Got all 3 Freedom Essentials, DSL, and DirecTV service through Verizon, couldn't be happier. Maybe now I'm do for even more discounts? Gotta give them a call. | |
|
| |
|
|
·