And talking about a more advanced service also helps the image of the basic offering, Mr. Miller said.

Fourteen Chase vice presidents had assembled for a basic offering in the Career Vision program.

Woman at desk said basic offering entailed kneading of shoulder, neck, upper back, lower back, arms and hands by licensed personnel.

TopTV would offer a total of 55 channels with 25 channels in its basic offering.

The basic offerings are a pair of white candles, 3 joss sticks and burning gum Benjamin (kemanyan).

"If your basic offering is, 'it is cheaper to work here than India', than that is a pretty poor sales pitch," he says.

The basic athletic offerings have at times included:

First, state highway maps, the old basic offering, can be printed out from a computer screen but they are too dinky, at 8 1/2 by 11.

Homespun basic offerings like those are only part of the story.

In 2008, the company encountered controversy when it attempted to remove the Al Jazeera English-language station from its basic offerings.