Telecom looks at simpler ways of offering services

Telecom is auditing its consumer services with a view to simplifying its offerings and introducing new ways of charging for calls.

Consumer marketing chief Victoria Crone said the company recognised that the way it offered its products and services was too complex for this sector of its market.

Products now being devised would take advantage of Telecom's next-generation T3G network so that a single household or destination could have a slew of numbers or billing opportunities.

Trials using voice over internet protocol (VoIP) would be announced soon, said Crone.

Among the proposed changes was billing based on location.

Crone said Telecom was looking at personal communications services using cellphone technologies, whereby calling rates would be location-dependent. Charges at home would be cheaper.

Also under scrutiny was the company website, which Crone said presented customers with too many options. Work was under way to examine what offerings met the needs of most customers.

One driver of the changes was research showing people were making increasing use of the internet.

Crone said consumers were spending more time online at home - on average five to six hours a week, based on data from Xtra, Telecom's internet service provider.

With customers doing more internet shopping - 32 per cent had made an online purchase, 44 per cent of them buying travel-related services - Telecom had to make sure it catered for that shift.

But Crone said the work being done this year was aimed at preparing customers for big changes in two to three years.