If European telecommunications companies endeavour to compete with cable operators by building ‘hybrid’ satellite and ADSL networks they will end up losing more than E3,000 (£1,830) per subscriber over ten years, according to Forrester Research.
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Making ADSL Broadband Pay report, released by Forrester last month, suggests that telcos should try to forge creative partnerships with satellite TV firms and the like, if they are be competitive with the cable companies’ triple offering of voice, video and data communication. If telcos forge ahead with ADSL – which stands for asymmetric digital subscriber line and is one type of broadband access (cable modem is the most common of the other types) – then they will be able to take 63% of the 38 million European households using broadband communications by 2006, according to the forecast.
ADSL uses existing telephone lines to transmit data and so can be offered by conventional telecommunications providers. Cable modem communications, on the other hand, require that a household has been physically ‘cabelled’ to the operator’s network.
“Although cable pioneered broadband in Western Europe, ADSL is the future: 56% of broadband connections in 2001 were ADSL, and telcos are just getting started. But telcos aren’t yet making a profit from broadband with today’s services and prices,” said Forrester Senior Analyst Lars Godell.
Godell says that ADSL providers should offer added PC services like gaming, music subscriptions, adult content and so on, in build the platform’s offering.
The findings consolidate those of another recent study from Forrester, which warned that the conventional telecommunications network provider is under threat as consumers increasingly move toward wireless and broadband services (see The Beginning Of The End For Conventional Phone Communications?).
