Convenience of Rogers’ second line service worth it, despite annoyances

When Rogers Wireless unveiled its second line voice service (SVLS) earlier this month, I jumped at the chance of taking it for a test drive. Considered by Reade Barber, SVLS service and market launch director, to be very popular with the small and medium-sized business community, the service allows users to have two phone lines on a single device and enjoy significant cost savings at the same time. As well, both lines could have different area codes which gives a Toronto-based business owner who does a lot of business in Ottawa the ability to save a bunch of money on long distance charges. While this is certainly a scenario that could be addressed with SVLS, I'm self-employed, juggle multiple mobile devices and a traditional office line, so I'm right in Rogers' crosshairs. I trialed it for a week and in a nut shell, the inability to leave work at work is outweighed by the convenience and potential cost savings. Being connected to work and play with one device was certainly convenient but it was also intrusive. I usually turn off my business phone during trips to the park or beach, while staying connected to my friends and family through my social line. But with the SVLS I couldn't turn off work and still be reached by family. Likewise, on more than one occasion my phone buzzed with calls from friends while in the middle of business-related meetings. Although my handset's voicemail wasn't activated, I received enough disruptive calls to gain some insight into potential pitfalls of this feature. Despite these annoyances, the service is fairly intuitive. My trial handset included the call display feature, so I was able to identify callers by their phone numbers. A small "1" or "2" at the top of the screen also indicated which line they were calling. Some handset models will allow users to name the lines, such as ‘business" and "personal". In addition, I opted for different ringtones for each line, enabling me to identify the nature of the call before I even picked up the device. Switching between lines to make outgoing calls was fairly simple and took about 15 seconds. A few quick clicks in the handset's settings menu lets the user designate a line as "active" for outgoing calls. Voicemail messages are left in separate boxes, but retrieval is done through a combined check. This is much more efficient than having separate voicemail boxes, but it also means that users will be listening to clients' complaints or inquiries from bosses during "off time" and grocery list reminders while en route to meetings.The disruptions, however, may be worth living with because of the potential cost savings. Rogers estimates customers who have two devices can save up to 49% off their wireless bills through SVLS. There is only one system access fee for both lines and if a customer is subscribing to certain features on one line, such as voice mail or call display, they can use them on the other at no additional cost. Rate plans, per line, start at $20 a month and increase from there. The plans are available on more than 120 devices, including the BlackBerry Curve, Treo 650 and 680 and all handsets currently sold in Rogers' retail stores. A quick comparison of my mobile phone charges and Rogers' plans shows that I could be saving $38 per month, or reducing my average combined mobile bills by approximately 15%. Getting a few "pick up milk" reminders mixed in with business messages just might be worth the $450 in annual savings.

Convenience of Rogers’ second line service worth it, despite annoyances

News | 09/04/2007 12:49 pm EDT

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