 from the telco. This new billing code will define not only what price the customer pays for a minute of airtime, but also describes the complete set of products, services, privileges, and dependencies that the customer has accepted as part of the telecommunications contract. The new code, referred to as the relationship code, signifies the relationship plan a customer is contracting for. RELATIONSHIP PLAN BASED ON INTERNAL DIFFERENTIATION This means that the telco must reshape its offerings and build more differentiation into them. Instead of offering consumers a contract that says that you will treat everybody the same way, offer the same service to everyone, but expect customers to pay more or less depending on how well they negotiated, you need to make contracts available that offer true choices. Of course, every telco works to create products and services with approaches that differentiate it from the competition. What we are referring to is creating products, services, and approaches that allow the telco to differentiate what it offers to consumers, an "internal differentiation." eXcellence in Telecommunications The Telco Churn Handbook This internal differentiation will mean that the consumer will be provided with options that allow the customer to choose exactly what kind of relationship they want to have with the telco, with a clear understanding of the costs, benefits and risks associated with each. Internal Differentiation - Network Quality Older network technologies provided telcos with little ability to differentiate between consumers whereas the newer switching con- nectivity options allow for all types of differentiation possibilities. Long Distance Differentiation Long distance services offer a good example of this. Today's long distance carrier has many alternatives for carrying long distance traffic for the consumer. Voice over IP (VOIP), private network, leased network, and network wholesalers offer a wide variety of choices and network providers have many ways of connecting different customers