CABLE TV operators NTL and Chorus are to offer their 169,600 analogue subscribers free phone line rental for life if they switch from Eircom.
This move could save consumers about €305 a year on rental charges to Eircom and will place additional pressure on Eircom, which has long dominated the fixed-line market.
This is the latest bid by UPC Ireland, the parent company of NTL and Chorus, to boost its triple-play offering of TV, phone and broadband.
At the end of September, UPC had 53,000 phone subscribers, mostly in Dublin. Its phone service was available to about 473,100 homes across the country. The offer will be available to UPC’s analogue TV subscribers only and not to its digital customers.
UPC is trying to encourage its analogue customers, who receive a basic pack of about 15 channels, to upgrade to its digital TV service, which offers more than 100 stations through a set-top box and premium movies and sports.
“Our analogue customers are more cautious about making the switch,” said Mark Coan, UPC’s sales and marketing director. “This way they can try the phone service without paying anything extra. This is an ongoing free offer, not a promotion or a trial.”
Mr Coan said pensioners and welfare recipients who receive a phone allowance from the state will be able to avail of the offer.
