Virgin have announced so-called 'free' calls from a Virgin landline to a Virgin Mobile which come into effect from this April.

More information on The Register or their own press release here.

However, as with other so-called 'free' things from these companies, coincidently it looks like line rental is increasing to £11.99 from £11 and no doubt the 'call connection fee' or whatever it is referred to as will increase along with evening time period changing to the same as BTs (both not currently confirmed) as mentioned here.

If BT don't plan on increasing their line rental then that means Virgin's line rental will be more than BT and at this moment in time, the only thing that is cheaper on Virgin compared to BT and many other landline providers is their line rental.

And yes, I know that the 50p less line rental is cross subsidised by REALLY expensive call charges for all call types, not just (but mostly) 084x/087x.   ;)

BT has confirmed the forthcoming change to its definition of "evening". The comment in the VM press release ...
Quote:

"At a time when other providers seem keen on giving their customers less from their phone service ...

sounds like a gentle dig at this, which could imply that they will not be following this move.

The analysis by the Register is well short of being profound - it may be worth waiting for more informed comment.

As I see it (no attempt at profundity), this is a sizable promotion for Virgin Mobile. Telephone comes free with cable TV and the Broadband (direct, not ADSL - although this is offered separately) is a fairly natural extension for those with a cable installation. Completing the fourth element in the "quad-play" has always needed more of a push than the relatively modest bundle discounts that are available. Being able to call "your own" mobile for free only works in family situations, which is probably where this is aimed.

This has been done by simply adding £1 to the rental charge (which will be paid by all Virgin Media cable and telephone customers, whether they would benefit or not). The package premiums have not changed.

As for any likely effect on BT, it is difficult to judge. Virgin is in a unique position, being a major provider in both the landline and mobile markets. The effect of unique regulation on BT enabled it to include 0845 calls in packages. This was around this time last year and again it was covered by a  relatively modest increase in rental charges introduced on 1 April, paid by all customers, regardless of whether they benefit. VM did not copy that move and it is hard to see what BT could do to respond to this.

The effect could simply be to highlight the differences between BT and VM.

When it comes to response, one may have to look at the other mobile telcos. If this move is seen to work for Virgin Mobile, the commercial effect of the resentment that landline callers feel about the cost of calling mobiles would be confirmed. This could add to the pressure for them to drop their termination rates as charged to other landline providers.

(My claimed lack of profundity is shown by my failure to address the fact that Virgin Mobile is not a network provider. I will leave it to others to develop this point.)

bbb_uk wrote on Feb 1^st, 2010 at 5:32pm:

Virgin have announced so-called 'free' calls from a Virgin landline to a Virgin Mobile which come into effect from this April. [...]

And once again, UK providers' continuing obsession with qualification continues:

"From 1st April, calls to active Virgin Mobile numbers made within the Talk Plan specified periods will also benefit from zero-rating. As with landline calls, users should re-dial before 60 mins to avoid call charges. To be “active”, the Virgin Mobile number called must have originated a chargeable outbound event (call, sms , data session) within the previous 90 days.

There is always a catch, a restriction, a qualification, a condition, an inhibitor.

Let's give Sarah a call on her VM - haven't spoken to her for a while. We can have a good 59'59" chat. Just hoping she's 'originated an outbound event' during the last three months or it will cost me a small fortune.

And just what is it about Britain and the pointless (other than hoping for memory lapses) sixty minute limit? Quite bizarre.

Having just moved my number from Virgin Mobile, this could presumably catch people out. Although, how many people actually know what network their contacts' phones are on anyway?


idb wrote on Feb 2^nd, 2010 at 3:09am:

And just what is it about Britain and the pointless (other than hoping for memory lapses) sixty minute limit? Quite bizarre.

Is it supposed to be to combat abuse, for example people leaving the calls continuously connected? Also, it must be profitable for them, particularly if customers have phones without a call timer. It's easy to go over and hour, then the rip-off per-minute rate (much higher than the old evening/weekend rate) soon adds up.