To Prove You Only Need Broadband, This Web Company Offered People £50 If They Could Remember Their Landline Number
About a third of the UK population ignore their home phones "amid fears it'll be a sales call."
These statistics come from wireless broadband service Relish, which provides 4G internet connections using a "Pocket Hub". Basically, it means there's truly no need for landlines anymore; over half of people in Britain only keep their landlines because they've bought bundles (internet and phone service).
Relish went out in London and offered people £50 to call their home phone numbers.
Here's the video:
The thing is, people still have to spend a lot of money for their landlines - and many have no idea how much.
"The nation is becoming confused about how much they are actually paying each month," explains Relish.
When packages are this complex, it's understandable. Check out BT's latest (Christmas) offer:
You might notice the small text below the actual price of the deal: £16.99 a month line rental. This base fee has been a regular part of deals for years - and BT makes sure you can only sign up to broadband if you use its lines.
Other companies are the same. Here's one of Virgin's latest offers:
Relish's services are only available in central London right now, but those behind the business are planning to expand. If they do, it could massively shake up the industry - and hurt telecoms giants such as BT, which, in reverse, are trying to tie in all media and communications.
"We think that current broadband providers offer very similar services," Relish's chief marketing officer Will Harnden tells Business Insider.
"Relish challenges and disrupts the status quo. Many Londoners including renters, flat sharers, young professionals, SME's and new entrepreneurial businesses want a broadband service that offers them more choice".
Harnden adds: "We feel the market is poorly serving many London consumers, who are lumbered with unnecessary landline charges, interminable waiting times for installation, onerous contracts, and lack of transparency in their broadband bills."
Check out the country's broadband prices, according to Relish:
He also explains the company is developing, and there are plans to roll out to other UK towns and cities in the "near future". Greater London is likely to come first.
Relish's monthly contracts cost £20 a month and run at a speed of around 30Mbps. So far, demand has been "significant", says the company. It launched in 2012.