Wharf launches $99 broadband, phone deals

The price war over residential broadband and fixed-line services has intensified with two Wharf (Holdings) units offering the best deal in the region, if not the world.

Fixed-line operator Wharf T&T and sister company i-Cable Communications have launched a promotional offer of $99 a month for unlimited broadband access with a free internet telephone service. More than 100 sales people were out on the streets at the weekend, pushing the deal in areas such as Mongkok.

The deal, which requires a 15-month subscription, is 43 per cent cheaper than the combined prices of the units' current offers of broadband at $99 and the telephone service at $76. It is even lower than the cheapest bundled service in the mainland, where China Telecom charges an average 100 yuan a month for its broadband and 37 yuan for its fixed-line service.

Wharf's pricing is in response to PCCW's move last month to slash its monthly telephone tariff by 39 per cent to $67.50, and rival City Telecom's dropping of its monthly rate to $39. However, both companies maintained their broadband offerings at well above $100 and analysts believe the Wharf move could trigger a fresh round of price cutting.

In January, Wharf T&T and i-Cable chairman Stephen Ng Tin-hoi indicated the firm had plans to launch a bundled service at below $100 because he expected the aggressive price competition would push its average revenue per user (arpu) to a lower level.

'Our broadband arpu has been under pressure since last year and will remain so this year, but we hope to increase sales by selling to more customers,' he said at the time.