But now Time Warner Cable, like its competitors, wants to sell high-priced bundles of television, telephone and Internet services.

In its early days, First Alliance raised money for its operations primarily by selling bundles of loans directly to private investors.

And then you sold bundles to other households and kept the money yourself.

As the Bells rumble into action, cable companies are aggressively selling discounted bundles of television, broadband and phone services.

Nationwide, competition between companies capable of selling bundles of services could save consumers about $10 billion a year, said Steve Pociask, a researcher at the institute.

"Any company with a brand name sells bundles, and some might sell local service as a loss leader."

Like Verizon and other telecommunications companies, AT&T is also selling bundles of services and wants to have a single brand for all its products.

The company said that its focus on selling bundles of services rather than individual products had reduced the need for sales workers.

The computer maker said it will pursue a strategy of selling bundles of hardware, software and services for Linux to its clients.

First, he created a broad computer services unit that sold bundles of hardware, software, consulting and maintenance to manage business processes like manufacturing, purchasing or marketing.