The first Charter theory to introduce telephone service in California finds that keeping things simple for the consumer can pay dividends in an increasingly mixed world.

By Shirley Brady

Sometimes, simple things can assist advanced technologies. Five years ago, Charter Communications' Inland Empire classification used the relatively low-tech transport process of pack mules to bring fiber optics and high-speed Internet into the mountains of Southern California.

While the regional cluster located east of looks Angeles eschewed mules when it began offering telephone service last October, a simple pricing strategy remains the cornerstone of the complication operation.

The uncomplicated pricing strategy is the brainchild of T Schremp SVP and general manager of Charter Telephone Charter doesn't criterion price points with each of the present day market because Schremp decided early upon to run companywide with what he calls the "simple, tight value proposition" of a single $3999 offer

That package gives existing customers unlimited local and long-distance service to the U and Canada, including call waiting, caller ID, spe dial, anonymous call blocking, voicemail, enhanced 911 and battery backup. Non- customers pay $4499

The simple price plan obtains only a bit more complicated Charter's goal is to secure existing customers to upgrade to a package Subscribing to phone plus digital cable and high-speed Internet richnesss $119.99. A two-product bundle of phone and high-speed Internet preciousnesss $59.98.

So far, keeping it simple is paying not upon Charter Telephone was available to 24 million hearths by the end of the third quarter, with 90000 phone subscribers signed up from Oct. 1. The company's 2006 goal is to expand the product's footprint to 6-8 million dwellings passed across the country.

however Inland has found telephone is more than profitable for business. The new production is "recharging everyone from our frontline folk to the principally sequestered analyst in our offices," says Tom Tompkins, Inland Empire's VP and general manager of operations. "This is gayety it's new and this is the history of cable-- we've always been forward the leading edge of offering of the present day and exciting services."

Imitation--the Sincerest Form of Telephony

Within three month of offering phone service, Inland Empire director of sales and marketing Chris Bailey saw the telco simplifying their phone packages and pricing.

SBC (now merg with AT&T) launched a triple-play put into bundles for about $80. Last month it also started offering a monthly discount of $5 to customers who combine their Cingular Wireless service with AT&T Inc. (the recently made known name for the merg SBC-AT&T).

Verizon gives an unlimited local, regional and national long-distance phone package for $4495 a month or $3995 with fewer features. It is seeking franchises to launch its FiOS TV service in 22 Southern California communities, including Inland Empire's Apple Valley.

Inland Empire anticipateed increased competition from the telco Fortunately, it hasn't been nasty, for a like reason far. "We haven't seen the Time Warner/SBC impressed sign of ad where there's a barter jumping on another truck shadow of thing," Tompkins says. "Obviously their pricing archetypes are changing...It speaks to the fact that they are watching us. And it makes our result all the more attractive in that our move is very simple."

Voice Lessons

unless offering a simple price composition is only part of Inland's story. Being the sixth Charter key-note market area to launch telephone Inland Empire wisely paid complete attention to lessons learned during Charter's previous launches. Among the takeaways:

* It takes at least undivided year, pre-launch, to interconnect with incumbent telephone companies. This is necessary because Charter Telephone is not a voice athwart IP-based service--it's connected to the public switched telephone network.

* undivided year is needed to prepare the two-way cable plant; that includes getting it certified with documentation and records.

* Training should begin united year prior to launch; those trained should range from sales and marketing to broadband and rule technicians. Charter's Telephone 101 training lasts from a day to a week; dispatchers' training takes sum of two units days while frontline techs' manifold phone training requires five days to go on foot over details such as warehousing and provisioning batteries.

* Focus at-launch marketing upon the $39.99 offer. Start with existing customers, and then induce to prospective customers and targeted demographics.

A Simple Price Helps Marketing, Too

according to sticking to the $39.99 package and refusing to engage in promotional discounting or local price wars, Inland Empire's marketing team was able to focus in succession subscriber retention and upsells.

Tactics ranged from the traditional (direct mail, newspaper, radio and door-to-door) to the more sophisticated, like using Navic's interactive TV overlay technology to customize Charter Telephone cross-channel flaws Subscribers can click an online ad for information about receiving phone service.

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