Embarq Corp. is setting off into the wide world of telecom, and expecting its ability to offer wireless service to help the company stay afloat.
The local landline company, freshly spun off from Sprint Nextel Corp., officially began offering its products to business and residential customers last week, armed with a new advertising campaign and a plethora of bundled offerings in which wireless plays a key role.
“We decided to bundle it in ways that make sense,” said Steve Mueller, Embarq’s director of wireless marketing.
On the consumer side, Embarq is offering bundles that include high-speed Internet, television from Dish TV, wireless and wireline service. The best prices come in when customers choose multiple services from Embarq: for example, up to 400 bonus wireless minutes when wireless and wireline phone service is bundled together, or a deal that offers high-speed Internet access for $25 per month for as long as the customer has the service-so long as they also keep an Embarq wireline calling plan.
An integrated voicemail box will allow users to be notified when a message comes from their wireless or home phone, and they can check the message from either device. Other perks of wireless/wireline bundles include unlimited calling between the home and wireless phone and a $5 wireless service discount.
Customers who have Sprint Nextel wireless service bundled with their home phone service “will be given a choice to convert to a new bundle plan that includes Embarq wireless service” once their current contract expires, according to Embarq.
Among the services that Embarq is selling to business customers is a Smart Connect service that will allow businesses to “move calls seamlessly from any wireless phone to any wired phone,” according to the company. Both business and wireless phones can be enabled to ring simultaneously, Mueller said.
The Smart Connect Plus version, which is in a trial mode, enables roaming between Wi-Fi networks and the CDMA wireless network. Mueller said that Embarq hopes to launch the service in “a few initial markets later this month.” Using the UT Starcomm 6700 smart phone from Embarq, business employees could use the phone on the cellular network while outside their employer’s Wi-Fi network, but once they are within the range of the Wi-Fi hot spot, the phone will handle calls using Wi-Fi.
Embarq also is offering small businesses the ability to create their own service bundles. When customers select a local voice package, they can choose unlimited domestic long-distance, DSL or wireless service at a 10 percent discount for two years. An introductory offer also allows customers who buy bundles to choose a free month of either wireless or DSL service.
All of Embarq’s wireless plans also include unlimited domestic calling to a specified Embarq landline phone. The company said that for its business customers who purchase both wireless and wireline service, it will soon introduce integrated voicemail. “Over time, we view wireless as a potential growth area for the company,” Mueller said.
