New home buyers are used to their builders asking about siding, flooring and
countertops, but DSL, wireless and satellite TV?
In an effort to lock in residential customers early, regional carrier
BellSouth today announced that it has signed a
partnership with Pulte Homes .
Pulte salespeople will be trained to explain BellSouth’s local,
long-distance and broadband service, as well as offerings from Cingular
Wireless (which is co-owned by BellSouth) and satellite video provider
DirecTV. In addition, a dedicated sales and support team will assist Pulte
employees.
“Customers must contact BellSouth directly to order,” Zealous Wiley, a
BellSouth spokesman, told internetnews.com. “Pulte is only
responsible for marketing the available services.”
The partnership has the potential to boost BellSouth subscriber numbers.
Pulte is the nation’s largest new home builder (by revenue) and constructs
more than 8,000 homes each year in the Atlanta-based carrier’s nine-state
territory.
Citing contractual agreements, Wiley declined to disclose details about how
Pulte will be compensated for new sign-ups.
Today’s agreement flows through BellSouth’s newly created community
technologies division. The unit was formed in August to strike deals with
owners and developers of single-family communities, apartments and
condominiums.
It’s also part of a larger effort to win more residential customers. Last
month, BellSouth signed an
agreement with Yahoo to offer co-branded DSL.
The builder is no stranger to these agreements, either, and views them as a
way to improve customer satisfaction
Mark Marymee, a spokesman for the Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based company,
said similar pacts are in place with Qwest , SBC
, Sprint
and Verizon
in their respective coverage areas.