50,000 answer TelstraClear's call

TelstraClear said yesterday it had reached its goal of signing up 50,000 residential phone customers and that demand had exceeded the company's expectations.

"There were some times where we were under a little bit of pressure to cope and there were times when we kept people waiting too long on the telephone," said Peter Thompson, TelstraClear marketing chief.

The HomePlan service was launched in November and TelstraClear said the speed with which it reached its goal "shows people are welcoming choice".

The service costs the same as Telecom's - $39.85 a month - but TelstraClear offers discounts when customers make toll calls. A $5 discount kicks in when $20 of calls are made and increases as the amount of tolls do. If a customer makes $160 worth of toll calls, the line rental fee is $9.85. More than $200 in toll calls results in a free line rental.

TelstraClear's next goal is to hit 150,000 customers by June next year. The company says it is building a multi-million-dollar contact centre at Kapiti, to be completed this year, to service expected growth.

HomePlan is not yet available in all areas or where the company has a residential cable network.