Battle For Broadband Customers Hotting Up
More than half (56%) of US internet users say they are likely to switch to a high-speed connection within the next six months, with there being an equal split between people choosing cable and DSL, says Ipsos-Insight.
The growth of total new users to the internet is slowing, with around two-thirds of US households connected but broadband usage continues to grow; since May 2003 penetration has grown by 7% to reach 46% of total US internet households.
Vice President at the Ipsos Technology and Communications practice, Todd Boards said: “Broadband is here, and with it, a battle is brewing between cable and DSL. While the number of new to internet users is declining, broadband companies including cable, DSL and satellite internet providers will have to compete for a relatively focused segment of consumers who are likely to upgrade their connection from dial up to high speed.”
Among homes already equipped with broadband, cables leads with 56% accessing a high-speed connection in this way, while DSL reaches 40% of homes and satellite trails reaching only 4%. However, the report says that cable based internet providers may not easily be able to hold on to their number one position as 28% of users are likely to upgrade to cable, 27% to DSL and the remaining 2% will move to satellite but a large minority of 35% will stay with dial-up.
Boards added: “This is promising news for broadband companies. We are seeing indications that more home-based internet users are migrating towards high-speed access, with cable and DSL battling it out for number one.”
Cable is also leading the customer satisfaction race, one in three customers claim their ISP ‘exceeds expectations’, versus 21% for DSL and 17% for dial-up.
The competition between cable and DSL service options will hot up, as ISP providers look to make their offerings stand up from the crowd by bundling together internet, phone and TV packages.