Just spotted some new phone tariffs from Telewest that don't seem to have gotten any coverage, even though I think they are quite exciting and an interesting move. Telewest's new Talk Anywhere service is the first of its kind in Britain
and will give consumers a choice of packages with 200, 400 or 800 minutes per
month. The time can be used to phone local, national, international, mobile
and internet numbers for a fixed monthly fee, which also includes the phone
line rental. Unused minutes can be rolled over to the following month. The pricing is as follows:
– Talk Anywhere 200 – 200 minutes for £18 a month, including line rental
– Talk Anywhere 400 – 400 minutes for £24 a month, including line rental
-Talk Anywhere 800 – 800 minutes for £34 a month, including line rental
I think this is a smart move as the packages are the first fixed-line tariffs include mobile minutes and use a structure that mobile users understand, as well as uniquely offering free international calls.
The tariffs stack up well against similar mobile offerings:
- Vodafone 200 minutes for £35, 700 minutes for £60
- T-Mobile 200 minutes for £29, 400 minutes for £47
If the Virgin Mobile deal goes through, these tariffs could be the first step towards ntl/Telewest/Virgin offering true fixed/mobile tariffs where one tariff will cover all calls whether made at home or on the move.
