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[Updated] Telewest makes noise about student 'package'
# 2 September 2004, 19:52 by Frank
Telewest today announced that is planning on giving students a ‘helping hand’ by launching what it calls a ‘student package’ that apparently combines an unlimited phone service, a broadband internet connection and a nine month contract.
Unfortunately, there appears to be nothing new whatsoever about this special “package” deal for students apart from a 9-month contract. The prices of the services quoted by Telewest for students are available to anyone, according to the Telewest website (Telco | Internet)
Students in Telewest-serviced areas can sign up for either of the following talk packages:
- Talk Evenings and Weekends, which offers unlimited UK local and national calls in the evenings and at weekends for £16.50 a month
- Talk Unlimited, which offers unlimited UK calls 24-hours a day for £25.50 a month. They can add their choice of blueyonder broadband internet service, starting from £25 a month.
Telewest have gone to great effort to put the benefits of the deal in student language, saying:
For a four-person household signing up to Talk Evenings and Weekends and blueyonder broadband 750k it would cost less than £10.50 a month each – the equivalent of just five pints of beer!
Eric Tveter, president and chief operating office at Telewest Broadband, said: “Your university years are the best of your life and when you’re trying to juggle the heavy workload on a skeletal budget, the last thing you want to worry about is a huge phone bill every month.”
The new “deal” is only available to students in full-time education until October 30, 2004. There have been rumours of ntl offering the same deal to students for a long time.
Update
In response to my query about the student package, Alex Legg, Consumer PR Executive at Telewest, said: “We have always had feedback from students that they are unwilling to sign up to our services because they have to sign a 12 month contract. This year we have devised a pack whereby if they choose a talk package and a 750k broadband internet connection or above they only have to sign up to a 9 month minimum contract period. The offer is not available if you take our 256k broadband internet package.”
“I’d like to think our prices are pretty good value anyway and with a 9 month contract it gives students more choice as to where they go to get their telephone or internet services while they’re at university or college.”