Verizon Communications Inc. is adding wireless to the menu of telephone, DSL Internet and DirecTV satellite services that customers can bundle for a discount, taking aim at cable TV rivals now selling phone service as part of their packages.
The six new packages including Verizon Wireless service are being offered to most homes served by Verizon’s traditional phone network, but not in those areas where the copper lines have been replaced with fiber-optic wires for the company’s new FiOS Internet and cable TV service.
The discounts will range from $8 to $28 a month depending on how many of the four services are bundled. A customer needs to have an unlimited calling plan as one of the services to qualify for the discount.
Verizon had planned to announce the new bundling initiative Tuesday, but President and Chief Operating Officer Denny Strigl alluded to the plan during a conference call Monday after the company’s quarterly earnings report.
The bundle discount is being introduced after a year in which cable companies lured away about 2.5 million customers from Verizon and other traditional phone companies, according to Telegeography. To date, more than 6 million have made that switch, the research firm estimates.
Cable companies also have begun to add cellular service to their bundles through a partnership with Sprint Nextel Corp.
Verizon said FiOS customers may be offered bundles with cellular service in the future.
With FiOS, “You still have a premium service that can sell itself,” spokesman Jim Smith said. “You generally use packages and bundles to attract attention. We probably at some point will want to attract attention to FiOS” by offering a bundle with Verizon Wireless.