15th November - Telecom carriers apparently are not providing wireless in their service bundles as frequently as customers would like, reports In-Stat. According to an In-Stat consumer survey, only 18% of current bundle subscribers have wireless, even though 31.6% actually wish to include wireless in their telecommunications bundle, the high-tech market research firm says.

The struggle between wireless and wireline services for subscribers and revenue seems to contribute to a tension between regulated incumbent telephone companies and their affiliated unregulated wireless companies. As a result, the telcos may be missing an opportunity that the cable companies may soon be capitalizing on.

A recent report by In-Stat found the following:

• Wireless has eroded the minutes of use for long distance and local calling. Respondents report a mean reduction in long distance minutes of 60% and local calling by 46.9%.
  

• Even though half of the wireline local and long distance usage has been replaced by mobile phone use, 81% of consumers want to keep their fixed line services.
  

• The survey also found that consumers still prefer easy-to-understand service bundling and shy away from complex converged wireless/wireline services.
  

This Market Alert is drawn from the In-Stat report, "Wireless in the Consumer Telecom Bundle: Discounts without Convergence", which covers the results of a survey that examines consumer attitudes toward carriers, their current bundling spending, and wishes for bundled services. It also covers erosion of minutes of use for wireline long-distance and local calling by wireless subscribers.

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