We hear a lot of ads on the radio and TV about the benefits to you of bundling your phone, TV and Internet service (and sometimes even your cell phone) with one company. Of course Rogers and Bell tout all the advantages to you of their generous offers; the savings, the convenience, only one invoice a month. But is bundling really such a good deal ?
For the carrier it certainly is. They get to lock you in via a contract for years of steady revenue. They get to sell you more services than if you were to pick and choose the best services for you from whoever provided them. Also, bundling locks up the marketplace and deters entry by new competitors, keeping the established companies safe from competition.
From a customer’s standpoint, bundling your service needs means you may not be able to get the best service for what your individual needs are. A better fit for your Internet access may be from an independent ISP, especially when you find that your bundle provider has hard data caps that discourage you from watching Netflix. Or their throttling practices make gaming over the net frustrating for your teenagers.
You may find that the quality of one of the services in the bundle is not to your satisfaction. Or there isn’t the selection of channels that you prefer. Some services that are important to you, maybe international calling aren’t even included in the bundle and you are forced to pay higher additional rates above your bundle.
So buyer beware. Be an informed consumer and do your research. Sometimes the hidden costs of convenient discounts are more than we expect.
