New Anytime Plans Offer Big Savings For Telecom Residential Customers
Monthly line rental price frozen until the end of 2005
Telecom residential customers now have the option of much cheaper prices for national toll calls and calls from home to
New Zealand mobile phones.
Launched today, Telecom Anytime abolishes the distinction between peak and off-peak rates, giving Telecom home line and
calling customers the option of one cheaper rate for calls at any time of day or night.
“This is the biggest revolution in calling prices for customers in years,” said Telecom General Manager Consumer Kelly
Moore. “Residential calling prices have been steadily declining, and this is the next big step. It is a way for
customers to make an immediate switch for even lower call prices. Our customers will be able to choose a plan that
really suits their needs and will offer big savings on our standard national and home-to-mobile calling rates.”
Telecom is also announcing today that it is freezing the ordinary monthly line rental (HomeLine) price for all
residential customers until the end of 2005.
The key features of Telecom Anytime are:
Total customer choice. All residential customers can choose whether to stay on their existing plan or opt for one of the
new plans depending on which is better value for them.
Total customer freedom. Talk anytime of the day or night and pay significantly reduced flat rates for national and
home-to-mobile calls.
Total customer certainty. Call any landline in the country anytime for no more than $2.75 per call for up to two hours
or around 2 cents a minute.
Total customer savings. The option of up to a 30% reduction in the cost of calls from home to New Zealand mobile phones.
Total customer value. The ability to add extra services such as Call Minder, Sky Digital Start Up or Xtra Broadband, all
on one plan.
“We’ve been looking closely at customers’ changing calling patterns and we have designed these plans to help them save
money,” Ms Moore said.
“For instance, parents want to be able to call from home to their kids on their mobiles at any time and not worry about
the cost.
“Or if you want to call your mum at the other end of the country, you don’t want to have to wait until off peak rates
kick in. Now it will be one cheaper rate all the time.
“What’s more, we are freezing the ordinary residential line rental (HomeLine) price until the end of next year. So
customers will benefit, whether or not they opt for the new plans.
“All customers will have a tangible benefit whatever their plan and wherever they live,” Ms Moore said.
There are two new plans, Telecom Anytime and Telecom Anytime Plus, both offering big savings on national calls and calls
to mobiles.
To make it easy to take advantage of the new plan, customers who are likely to make substantial savings on Telecom
Anytime will automatically be put on the new plan. They will still have the option to opt out if they prefer to stay on
their existing plan. For others, Telecom will advise them how much they could save on the new plan, based on their
recent calling patterns, and the customer can decide.
To make it easy for customers to find out about Anytime and to see if it could save them money, customers can call an
0800 number or use the Anytime calculator online at http://www.telecom.co.nz/anytime.
“All customers will be able to easily opt in or out of the new plans,” Ms Moore said.
“There will be geographical price differentiation in the new plans, but wherever people live they will have the
potential for very big savings.
“The market is always changing to meet new customer needs and competitive trends. It’s a fact of life in 2004 that our
competitors are focusing on the big cities while we serve the whole country.
“We’re adapting to this environment and acknowledging that it costs less to serve customers in big cities such as
Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch than in the rest of the country. We want to pass that benefit on to customers,
while still investing heavily to bring best value and best communications to the whole country,” Ms Moore said.
The plans include a monthly charge, and are available now to Telecom home line and calling customers.