PlusNet marketing has totally lost the plot!

[#1]

Just seen the member centre splash page (unsure how long this has been around) - PlusNet are now offering 18 months free unlimited ADSL for no commitment beyond the 18 month contract.  This is sheer lunacy!
How on earth does marketing expect the company to pay for the essential support services without an income stream?  Staff certainly cannot work for nothing, so if ADSL is being given away how is quality support personnel going to be provided... or is that the heart of the matter - not enough of them are being (or will be) provided?

[#2]

just so

[#3]

It's profitable for Plusnet because you have to take the exorbitantly priced phone package as well!

[#4]

Depends on your definition of free.
It is only “free” with £16.99 line rental, so you have to buy something to get the “free" offer.

[#5]

It's not the cheapest in the market at the moment.

[#6]

Semantics - you have to have a phone line for ADSL.
For all ISPs the line rental is circa £17pcm.
Yes there are CPs out there who can shave a bit off the line rental, but then you'd have to fund the broadband separately.
Line charges though is a bit of a distraction - broadband capacity has to be bought by usage.  I recall not so long ago PlusNet talking about the myth and unstainability of unlimited usage ... and that was back in the days of pay-as-you-use bandwidth.
The only thing missing from this lunatic asylum offer is a £100 cash back offer similar to BT Retails!  

@Matty,
I think I must be missing something?  That image looks like PN brand style, but the line rental is more than that quoted on the current splash page (see OJ's post #2) so it is cheaper than what you've pointed to.

[#7]

Cost to Plusnet of basic line rental £86.72 + VAT = £8.67 per month so margin for broadband £8.23 and I hate to think how much they make on call charges given the charges by the smaller ISP's who don't subsidise broadband

[#8]

Well maybe there is a method to their madness. If you attract a lot of users with this 'free' offer, the next logical progression from ADSL is Fibre, so maybe they are playing the long game in the hope that the majority of users will simply stay with them and migrate to fibre, because it would appear that this is their best source of income. If you think about their new network it implies there is a demand for it, no doubt created by fibre users.
Just a thought.

[#9]

I for one would prefer to pay a little more for far better C/S.

[#10]

Quote from: Townman

I think I must be missing something?  That image looks like PN brand style, but the line rental is more than that quoted on the current splash page (see OJ's post #2) so it is cheaper than what you've pointed to.

The image showing free broadband for 18 months with line rental @ £17.70 is TT.

[#11]

Sorry, shoulda clarified that! 

[#12]

It is not semantics.

If it was was really free then Plusnet would allow you to have free broadband whilst keeping your phone line elsewhere. As OJ points out by making you have line rental with them too they still generate decent margin.

[#13]

Plusnet were even paying people to take free broadband around Black Friday!
http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,146139.msg1287077.html#msg1287077
The cost of the phone rental isn't semantics - It's clearly subsidising the cost of broadband!!

[#14]

as a comparison https://www.uno.net.uk/packages/phone-line-rental/ ; https://pulse8broadband.co.uk/line-rental

[#15]

Quote from: Townman

For all ISPs the line rental is circa £17pcm.

No it isn't!
£13