Qwest has announced it is raising prices on many of its telephone products and services, including caller ID and call waiting, effective Nov. 1.

However, the increases will only affect Qwest customers who do not bundle other data services that Qwest provides. If customers also use Qwest to provide either Internet, wireless or satellite television service, they will not be subject to the increases.

Among the monthly price increases announced, caller ID will go from $5 to $7.50, call waiting will go from $3 a month to $4.50 and directory assistance calls will go from 50 cents per call to 75 cents.

Basic service rates are not affected.

The Oregon Public Utility Commission has approved the increases, said Qwest spokesman Bob Gravely. Denver-based Qwest provides local telephone service and other data services in 14 states, mostly in the West.

According to Atlanta-based telecommunications analyst Jeff Kagan, the more services a company can provide, the easier it is to retain customers. Companies that bundle like to make themselves “sticky,” he said.

“Ten years ago, if you wanted phone service, you went to the phone company,” Kagan said. “Today, you can get phone service from a variety of providers … and in that world, carriers are getting more competitive. Carriers want to hang onto the customer.”

Kagan said bundling benefits providers and customers because customers get better value and providers get more loyal customers.

Gravely said Qwest wants to move as many customers as possible into bundles, but he said the price increases were sought to help Qwest cover its business costs as prices for fuel and employee benefits rise.

“It’s true we do try and move as many customers as possible into bundles, and we encourage them to call us for a free account review to look at possibly bundling their services, but the main reason for the increases is we are simply acting like any other business would when costs are going up,” Gravely said.

Qwest telephone customer Tessa White, of Bend, doesn’t like bundling and said she’s annoyed she keeps getting asked by Qwest and her cable company to do so.

“I wouldn’t want to bundle services because there’s always something you have to change and it takes more time than it’s worth,” White said. “I don’t need to save a handful of dollars a month to go through the whole process to get the same product I’m already getting, and it doesn’t cost them anymore (not to bundle) that I can see.”

A bundled future

Kagan said bundling is the way of the future as cable companies muscle in on territory that used to belong exclusively to telephone companies. Also in the mix are Internet companies like Vonage and Skype that provide telephone service through the Internet using a technology called Voice Over Internet Protocol, or VoIP.

Qwest provides a high-speed Internet service using DSL (digital subscriber line) technology that uses the company’s vast network of existing copper telephone lines, albeit with restrictions on how far a customer is from a neighborhood switch. Qwest also resells wireless telephone service from Verizon and satellite television service from DirecTV.

Gravely said company policy prevents him from disclosing the number of customers Qwest has in Central Oregon.

According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Qwest had 8.3 million telephone customers in its 14-state footprint as of June 30, down 9 percent from the same time a year ago.

Competitive market

BendBroadband has been marketing bundling options for several years, as it offers cable television, high-speed Internet and telephone services using VoIP technology. John Farwell, BendBroadband’s vice president of business operations, said in a statement e-mailed to The Bulletin that close to 20 percent of the homes in BendBroadband’s footprint subscribe to the company’s telephone service.

“Customers tell us they love the convenience of dealing with one provider and the inclusion of unlimited long distance has been very popular,” Farwell said. “Most of our phone subscribers bundle with high-speed Internet and video services.”

Vonage, which uses Internet technology to connect callers through the Internet rather than over traditional copper telephone line, also has seen its customer base grow. The Holmdel, N.J.-based company ended its second quarter on June 30 with 2.6 million customers, up nearly 7 percent from the same period a year ago, according to company documents filed with the SEC.

“You just can’t just be a phone company anymore,” Gravely said. “We face competition on all sides and anyone who thinks we’re still a monopoly that doesn’t face fierce competition — they haven’t been following developments in the industry.”