Internet, television and telephone are must have necessities in today’s world as they enable us to receive as well as relay data information from one place to another as well as fuel our entertainment and communication needs. Right now a majority of people in Pakistan tend to use these three services although from different service providers. For broadband internet packages and telephony needs a huge majority of users have subscribed to PTCL broadband internet packages. For television needs, there are Cable TV operators in almost every area of Pakistan.
What do you miss out on if you don’t opt for an internet bundle?
However using different service providers comes with its own set of disadvantages. For one, you have to contact two to three different providers at the time of subscribing to internet, telephony and television services. Not just that, till you keep on using the said services, for any after sales service or technical support, you’ll have to reach out to various avenues. Bill payment also becomes a hassle as you get three different bills on various dates during the month which leads to the subscriber being prone to missing out on due dates for payments and could face increased direct costs in the name of late payment fees or surcharges.
As for indirect costs, you might need to make calls to different service providers in case you need technical support or face outage/downtime issues. Also since PTCL offers only wired DSL broadband hence getting a telephone line becomes mandatory to avail their services and you pay the phone’s line rent even if it’s an unwanted service for you. There’s a definite wastage of time and money associated with these practices. Not to mention that currently a huge number of PTCL customers are highly unsatisfied with the speeds as well as technical support being substandard too. Users complain of high downtime rates as well.
The bright side of having an internet bundle:
Now that we’ve highlighted some major issues while choosing different providers for different services, let’s talk about the benefits one can get from opting for a single service provider for their internet, telephony and television needs. The biggest thing is that you get streamlined services and have to approach only one helpline for any queries complains, package upgrades or tech support. It saves on your indirect costs as well. Not to mention that direct costs can also take a dip as getting a broadband internet bundle can come with certain waivers such as no installation cost or double speeds for a limited time period or cash discounts on availing all three services. There’s only one bill to keep track off which enables users to make timely payments. Some new ISPs offer bundle internet services including phone and TV over fiber optics. StormFiber internet packages are limited to a few areas in Lahore and Karachi. Similar is the situation with Optix Fiber internet packages that are currently available in limited areas of the above mentioned cities. Nayatel internet bundles are being offered in select areas of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. TransWorld internet packages also include broadband internet and television however it does not have telephony services right now. PTCL also offers bundle internet packages too however they are DSL based instead of fiber optics.
There are a few things to note though, that in case of buying a bundle package, the only downside that you become prone to is that if one service goes down, the other two might suffer as well. However with these services being provided over Optical Fiber, they tend to be much more reliable and speedier than broadband internet relayed over copper wire. Hence downtimes are more unlikely. Also the availability is still limited to select locations in a few major cities of Pakistan however the coverage of such providers is increasing by the day so it’s only a matter of time when the coverage will be sufficient.
Coming to the conclusion, we feel that buying an internet bundle can surely remove many inconveniences and help you save money in the long run. For those who can get these services right now, it is a definitely better option in contrast to PTCL.