Verizon is changing the way it sells its internet and cable packages as customers are increasingly seeking ways to cut the costly cord.
The company is eliminating bundles and contracts, Verizon announced Thursday. Instead, it will sell its Fios TV and internet services separately. Long-term contracts are also being trashed in favor of charging customers month-to-month. That is similar to how streaming services charge customers.
Verizon is calling the new offers “Mix and Match on Fios.” There are now three internet packages and five Fios TV packages. Notably, Verizon will continue selling Google’s YouTube TV for $49.99 per month as a TV option under an agreement the two companies signed last year. A home telephone package will also be sold for $20 per month.
The new bundle-free packages offer more price transparency for customers, Verizon claims.
“Customers are tired of having to buy a bundle with services they don’t want to get the best rates, and then discover that those rates didn’t include extra fees and surcharges,” said Frank Boulben, Verizon’s senior vice president of marketing, in statement.
But not all surcharges are going away: Verizon will continue charging a $15 monthly fee for routers in some of its internet packages and a $12 set-top monthly fee in most of its Fios TV packages. But other fees it previously charged, including for regional sports networks, will now be included in the total Fios TV price.
Verizon, like its competitors such as Comcast, has been stung by customers ditching high-priced cable packages for streaming services. Verizon lost nearly 70,000 video subscribers in its most recent earnings report. However it did add 30,000 internet subscribers.
