After pondering the question, “Is the Bundle Enough?” for almost a year, I posed it to some of the world's leading marketers of telecommunications and entertainment services during a panel discussion at C-COR's Global IP Summit in Athens last month.

Prompting this were two other questions: “What happens when all operators are able to provide a similar bundle?” and “If the bundle is so great, why aren't all customers purchasing bundled services?”

A combination of telephony, Internet, video and wireless services have comprised the typical bundle. The bundle is desired by service providers as a driver of increased average revenue per user (ARPU) and the ability to reduce churn. A recent Infonetics survey suggested that ARPU and new revenue streams were the main motivation for bundles, but none of the large service providers surveyed suggested that the bundle was being implemented because of customer demand.

The bundle does work. SBC Communications increased its ARPU by 4.6% when it increased the number of double-play subscribers from 54% to 66%, according to the iDate Group.

Thomas Leone, vice president and general manager of Cox Communications, a J.D. Power & Associates' Quality Award winner the last three years, reported that the triple play accounts for 43% of its customers and that 72% take at least two services. He suggested that service, simplicity and savings are the keys to success.

Mitch Clark, executive vice president of marketing operations for UPC Broadband, believes that successful bundles target lifestyles and give customers choice. At the same time, operators must communicate the benefits and value of the offering in simple terms. Clark suggested that simplicity includes the ability for customers to self-provision services and for customer service reps to monitor systems that indicate the types of services customers have and might want.

The bundle is also dynamic. The triple play has now become the quadruple play, and with some independents, it has become the quintuple play. Panelist Phil Erli of Ringgold Telephone discussed the addition of home security monitoring as a value-added service that is finding traction in the company's rural area. But he also gave an example of how bundling long-distance into Ringgold's basic package found less traction.

Ultimately, the bundle won't be enough for an independent telco to remain competitive. The key to future competitiveness will be the ability to continually add value to the bundle at competitive prices and communicate that value to the customer. These things, coupled with an independent telco's exemplary local service, will allow an independent telco to maintain a competitive edge in today's bundled world.