Whether or not you get your weekly shop from Tesco (go on, admit, you do - we're not going to hold it against you) and even if you sincerely mourn the demise of the corner-shop, there's no denying that the people who run Britain's biggest supermarket chain would seem to be a whole lot more clever than the occupants of the top table at the Clever People's Conference.
You (or someone you know who will admit to shopping in Tesco) may have noticed that, on every new visit to a big store, it seems to be selling some additional new, non-food lines that are far more lucrative than baked beans, milk, flour and all the other, more usual, supermarket fare.
Only as recently as last weekend, I realised that our local now has much more comprehensive displays of motoring accessories; bicycles and bike accessories; sports clothes and sports goods; and paint and other DIY goodies. I left the store shaking my head, partly in admiration but also because I was wondering where it's all going to end, apart from in world domination.
You on the other hand (or your Tesco-shopping acquaintance) may have also note - if you use a "selected" branch of Tesco - that internet telephony packages were selling alongside the DVD set-top recorders, wide-screen tellies and laptop PCs. Yes, Tesco is now into VoIP!
Last Friday, I since discovered, the company issued a press release about this latest diversification. The release failed to mention that VoIP packages are initially only available in "selected" stores but did say,
Tesco is set to transform
the way we
make phone calls and slash call costs with the launch of its internet
phone service, which is announced today.
Tesco internet phone is:
* Both easy to set up and simple to use
* A low-cost alternative to traditional fixed line telephones
* The must-have technology for 2006
8.1 million homes in the UK now have access to broadband internet, but until now internet phone technology (also known as VOIP), with its complicated technology and confusing jargon, has mainly been the domain of techies.
All that is set to change with the launch of Tesco’s new Internet phone. Offering both ease of use and great value calls, it’s expected to make this technology appealing to a mass market for the first time ever and make 2006 the year of the internet phone.
Calls from Tesco’s new Internet phone both within the UK and to popular international destinations such as the US, Canada and Australia are priced at just 2p a minute, while calls to UK mobiles cost only 10p a minute. Calls to other internet phone users are absolutely free wherever they are in the world.
Tesco Internet phone packs are now available to purchase in-store for just £19.97. Each Tesco Internet phone pack contains a phone handset, an installation CD, an installation guide and £5 of free airtime.
Tesco internet phone is:
* Both easy to set up and simple to use
* A low-cost alternative to traditional fixed line telephones
* The must-have technology for 2006
8.1 million homes in the UK now have access to broadband internet, but until now internet phone technology (also known as VOIP), with its complicated technology and confusing jargon, has mainly been the domain of techies.
All that is set to change with the launch of Tesco’s new Internet phone. Offering both ease of use and great value calls, it’s expected to make this technology appealing to a mass market for the first time ever and make 2006 the year of the internet phone.
Calls from Tesco’s new Internet phone both within the UK and to popular international destinations such as the US, Canada and Australia are priced at just 2p a minute, while calls to UK mobiles cost only 10p a minute. Calls to other internet phone users are absolutely free wherever they are in the world.
Tesco Internet phone packs are now available to purchase in-store for just £19.97. Each Tesco Internet phone pack contains a phone handset, an installation CD, an installation guide and £5 of free airtime.
All suitably modest. The release also included the following comparison table:
Tesco Internet Phone international landline rate comparison*
|
Australia |
US |
Canada |
France |
||
|
BT Together Option 1 |
Peak |
24p |
14.99p |
16p |
18.5p |
|
Off peak |
9p |
9p |
9p |
9p |
|
|
Tesco Internet Phone |
All times |
2p |
2p |
2p |
2p |
* Prices checked online and correct as at 19 January 2006
We kind of presume that the same comparisons are going to be found at point-of-sale and, if so, it rather shows that, in some things, Tesco expects to be able to fool lots of the people for a lot of the time.Trouble is, there are just so many telecom deals out there that the company might just succeed.
However, some facts need to be known. The first is that there are a number of ways to make international calls at VERY cheap rates using ordinary telephones - including cordless phones that doesn't leave you tied to a PC. Before we make any international calls, we always visit a particular page on the Money Saving Expert site run by the king of money-saving experts, Martin Lewis.
Below is a screengrab of what the page looks like - showing the cheapest calls first. Surprise, surprise, the prices quoted for making calls to the four above-mentioned countries are cheaper than Tesco's. Ignoring those offers that involve additional fees (shown at the top in blue) and just looking at figures for pay-as-you-go calls (green), the results are - Australia, 1p (6p for calling mobiles); USA, 1p (and the same for mobiles!); Canada, as per the USA; France, 1p/6p.
Okay, making such calls isn't as convenient as we'd like - you need to ring an 11-digit number, then press the hash key, before you dial the full number you want to call - and programming these special numbers into your phone can be a waste of time, because they change regularly. But if you're a cheapskate, you'll make that effort; and, you can start right now by clicking on the pic below, which links to the page.
As for saving money on UK calls, we'd strongly suggest you check out the deals being offered by broadband internet services providers. Pipex - and it's not alone - offers a bunch of different deals. Some are incentives to get you to sign up for different types of broadband account. Others are available to existing subscribers. I personally signed up some weeks back for a deal that adds a fiver (inc VAT) to my monthly Pipex bill but gives 3000 free minutes of UK calls per month to 01 and 02 numbers day and night.
That's 50 solid hours of phone calls - far more than than the whole family is ever likely to use. Sadly, I still have to pay a tenner or so each month for the BT line that hosts the broadband connection even though Pipex is now my ISP and my telecoms company.
I do use a VoIP service, as well - Skype - but very selectively. Typically, I only call friends or colleagues - when they're travelling abroad and have with them their laptops, with Skype installed on them.
Now all this doesn't mean you should go off and sign up with Pipex. And nor should you consider opting only for Skype if you're after a VoIP service. The point is, simply, that you should check out the facts before you go splashing out - afterall, as Tesco itself is so fond of saying, every little helps.
Again, good ol' Martin Lewis might be a suitable starting place. He has an article called, The UK's Cheapest Home Phone Calls Provider and says this is updated monthly.
Oh - and Sod's Law - I've just noticed that The Register has also run its ruler over Tesco's offer and found it wanting - or, rather, got some worthies from rival operators BT and Wandaoo to comment and do the job that way. You might care to check that out, too.
Either way, why not join us over in the HEXUS.community to discuss Tesco's new offering and tells up what you think are actually the best VoIP and telecoms deals?
Update - Tesco knows its prices are "pants"
We've just had an email exchange with Martin Lewis about the Tesco VoIP service - okay, we were trying to get him to give our story a bit of a push on his site! His view is that, "Tesco should be ashamed of itself with this pitiful package". And, he says, "I told them so when they asked if I wanted a briefing on the new product. My reply was, 'Your prices are pants. I'm a Money Saving Expert; why on earth would I want to talk to you?'. Hopefully that made the point."
Well, it might have made the point but, seemingly, there's been no price cuts, so Tesco, despite knowing its prices are pants, does indeed think it's going to be able to fool lots of the people for a lot of the time.
