WASHINGTON-Bundled and branded telephony, video and Internet services will dominate the U.S. telecommunications marketplace as the industry experiences increased competition and realignment, predicts Dr. Sam Book, president of Consumer Research at Economic and Management Consultants International Inc.
EMCI recently conducted an in-depth study of more than 800 U.S. households and found that nearly 80 percent would subscribe to combinations of local telephone, long distance, cable television, cellular, paging and Internet access from a single provider based on current prices for service.
EMCI’s report, “Branding & Bundling Telecommunications Services: Telephony, Video and Internet,” says the most preferred bundles are: local telephone and long-distance service; local and/or long-distance service with cable television; local and/or long-distance service plus cellular; and local and/or long-distance with Internet access.
“Our new study shows that consumers value bundling, and they are willing to switch service providers to obtain combinational efficiencies,” said Book.
“And with increased bundling, branding becomes even more important. Most telecommunications consumers would take bundled telephony, video and Internet services from AT&T [Corp.], but fewer would buy the same bundled services from other companies.”
Two-thirds of the respondents rate AT&T excellent or very good as a “telecommunications provider of the future,” said EMCI.
More than 50 percent rate Bell Atlantic Corp., BellSouth Corp. and Ameritech Corp. excellent or very good, while most cellular companies and cable companies received lower perpetual ratings, says the report.
EMCI concluded that phone companies’ extensive popularity gives them an edge in competitive marketing position.
The study said about three-fourths of consumers are highly satisfied with their local and long-distance phone service. Half of cable television and cellular subscribers are highly satisfied with their cable and cellular service.
