TalkTalk takes initiative in scraping line rental charges for broadband customers
TalkTalk has become the first broadband supplier to scrap line rental charges and opt for an all-inclusive charge. The moves is in response to a report by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) which said 81% of customers found broadband pricing strategies “confusing”. TalkTalk’s consumer managing director Tristia Harrison said: “TalkTalk is going to fight hard to ensure customers get the transparency they deserve” and called on other broadband suppliers to follow TalkTalk’s example.

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2016 (12:43 pm) - Score 1,043

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) will this week unveil their final proposals for clearing up misleading broadband prices and TalkTalk is the first to jump, with the ISP pledging to adopt a single “all-in pricing” for their bundles of broadband, phone (line rental) and / or mobile and TV.

Today TalkTalk has become the first ISP to confirm that they will adopt the new pricing model this Autumn 2016. In a press release the ISP said of existing promotions (we assume this includes their own): “The UK’s fiercely competitive broadband market has been increasingly characterised by attention-grabbing broadband prices, underpinned by less prominent – and more costly – landline charges … Presenting landline and broadband costs separately adds unnecessary complexity and risks broadband deals appearing misleadingly cheap.”

The ASA’s Jan 2016 Proposals for Broadband ISPs · Advertise all-inclusive up-front and monthly costs; no more separating out line rental. · Greater prominence for the contract length and any post-discount pricing. · Greater prominence for up-front costs.

The move has been expected since the ASA first proposed the changes in January 2016 (here), which received a mixed response from Internet Service Providers (here). Never the less all ISPs will be expected to adopt the change, although TalkTalk’s autumn date suggests that the ASA will delay its introduction until after the summer in order to allow the industry time to adapt.

Tristia Harrison, TalkTalk’s Consumer Managing Director, said: “As long as line rental and broadband are priced separately, the temptation to advertise deals in this way will always be there. But it’s time for providers be honest about this – it’s a bad habit we have all been guilty of, it doesn’t serve customers well and it’s time it stopped. That’s why we agree with the Government, the consumer groups and the ASA; and why we called on the regulator, Ofcom, last year to address the problem. We want to make things simpler and fairer for customers. People deserve to know they are getting value for money and, as the value for money provider, TalkTalk is going to fight hard to ensure customers get the transparency they deserve. But TalkTalk can’t do this alone. Until other providers follow our lead, households across the UK risk being misled by seemingly good deals that all too often mask extra charges.”

It’s perhaps less of a bad habit and more a case of how ISPs have always purchased their broadband and line rental products separately from Openreach (BT), with bundles being a fairly recent introduction via the largest providers. We should add that Openreach are working on a new SOGEA solution that would offer a truly standalone FTTC (VDSL) “fibre broadband” package (details here, here and here), but that’s not expected to launch until 2018.

ISPreview.co.uk understands from our ISP sources that the final proposal will be broadly in keeping with what the ASA announced in January, which is fine for providers that primarily offer bundles or true standalone services. However it could still create confusion and complications for providers that offer broadband and or line rental / phone services as separate products, which can be mixed and matched between different providers.

In the meantime TalkTalk states that their single monthly price will be available to anyone taking a new package and existing customers who are re-contracting. TalkTalk homes will also continue to receive itemised bills to provide full clarity, as well as being able to manage and track their usage and spending online or through the TalkTalk app.