Our article on historical pricing of broadband/fiber internet in the Philippines in the last 10 years drew a lot of comments/feedback.
One of the comments was about the bundling of a landline phone with a broadband subscription. This has been the practice of Globe and PLDT as they continue to provide this legacy service to customers. During the years of dial-up and DSL service, a landline phone was a pre-requisite for getting an internet subscription. This was due to the fact that the internet line had to go thru the landline cables so it made sense that these services are bundled.
Later on, we got leased lines, cable TV companies like Sky offer broadband services without the need for a telephone line (instead, they used their existing cable TV lines), and further down the road pure fiber networks built by the likes of Converge ICT completely circumvented the legacy networks where giants like PLDT and Globe still use.
In reality, any residential customer who wants to subscribe to a broadband/fiber internet does not need to get a landline phone bundled with it. The fiber plans that are being offered by PLDT/Globe come with a landline phone because it’s just how they’ve been doing it for decades. It’s no longer a technical requirement. The bundling benefits the internet service provider because it adds value to the service (regardless if we want it or not) and it offers an opportunity to charge a certain MSF that could be higher than competitors (or a perceived advantage if the offered pricing and speeds are the same).
We thought it’s already common knowledge that PLDT and Globe force customers to get a landline just to get a broadband subscription. We don’t want to highlight this unfair business practice as a positive advantage.
But the question still remains — in the age of broadband and 5G, do we still need the landline phone? From experience, the immediate answer is a no. In the last 6 years, I have never answered a landline call (despite them rinning on occasion). All voice communications happen via mobile or apps like Messenger and Viber. I personally don’t see the need for a landline phone.
Of course, this is just my personal opinion. What do you think — when was the last time you used the landline? Perhaps, ISPs should just un-bundle the landline and lower their monthly service fees for their broadband plans? That would be nice but not likely to happen since it will just hurt their bottom line.
Landlines are just an unnecessary expense nowadays. For those complaining about charges when calling a landline using a cellphone: there are unli promos you can use, or subscribe to. Certainly I cannot justify 600 or 1000 monthly landline subscription to call a bank’s customer service once or twice a month, if ever.
Also, you cannot subscribe to a landline plan only anymore. Prepaid plans were discontinued. To get one means bundling with a data plan you don’t need, because you already have a better plan than pldt’s or globe’s.