The once-mighty broadband bundle that came packaged with a phone line may be starting to die out thanks to the rise of unlimited mobile phone plans and the national broadband network, says Credit Suisse.
Phone and internet providers such as Telstra, TPG Telecom and Optus sell packages known as bundles that include different services. The bundles are designed to encourage users to spend more every month. It also makes them less likely to jump ship.
But Credit Suisse research analyst Fraser McLeish says the rising number of mobile phone plans with unlimited phone calls is accelerating the death of fixed-line phones and could hurt the success of certain bundles. 
"As consumers get increasingly comfortable with mobile calls being effectively 'free', we expect them to place diminishing value on fixed-line bundle plans," he wrote in a note on Tuesday. "There will no longer be such a thing as a separate voice access line under NBN as all voice traffic will be carried over the IP broadband connection.
"As [users move onto the NBN] we expect an increasing number to decide that they no longer require a fixed phone number."

Customer demand
Mr McLeish said there were already signs that bundles were starting to unravel in response to customer demand, or lack thereof.
"TPG is now leading with its $59.99 standalone broadband plan as its main 'hero' offer," he said. "Telstra's new low-cost Belong service has adopted a very flexible pricing structure for its NBN plans.
"TPG has restructured iiNet price plans, which had become increasingly uncompetitive following changes by competitors at the premium end of the market."
TPG's last financial results shows its home phone subscriber base rose by 114,000 users in the year ending   July 2015.
But despite this growth, Mr McLeish said TPG and its subsidiary, iiNet, were under threat from changes in the phone line market because they have traditionally been big sellers of voice services.
iiNet had 472,000 fixed voice subscribers as of   December 2015 with an average revenue per user of $42 per month, which implied they generated about $240 million for the telco every year - equivalent to about 22 per cent of its total revenue.

Content partnerships
But that's not to say bundles are dead as a concept. Mr McLeish said entertainment bundles, thanks to partnerships between telcos and content creators such as the English Premier League or Foxtel, would become increasingly important.
He added that TPG's lack of investment in this area would be a potential risk because its rivals were investing in content.
"ISPs may be able to sustain ARPU as the voice bundle declines by offering better entertainment inclusions," he said. "However, entertainment is going to be a higher cost to ISPs than voice and we believe will add to pressure on margins across the industry."
TPG executive chairman David Teoh last week said the company was planning to launch services relating to content but declined to outline his plans. He added that customers were less loyal to specific media providers, making bundling less vital.
"The content game has changed a lot in the last six to nine months, we've seen Netflix coming in and [other] over-the-top services like Stan and Presto ??? offered for a few dollars," he said.
Mr Teoh has previously said he is in talks with subscription TV provider Fetch TV and the company has already signed a deal with Foxtel to offer a white-labelled version of the product but chose not to release it.