Cable providers rate poorly on both customer service and pricing, but thanks to their speedy broadband service, they have so far managed to score more customers than the phone companies, according to a survey out today from research firm CFI Group. The survey, which quizzed 1,318 households online at the end of June, measured consumer satisfaction with telecommunications providers.
The research showed that while cable providers were getting more customers for the time being, telecommunications firms have a chance to win subscribers back as they roll out faster broadband services, IPTV and even wireless bundles. The research also underlined the demise of landlines (1.6 million gone for AT&T and Verizon in the last year), and customer dissatisfaction with slower DSL offerings from telecommunications carriers (nearly 70 percent of net broadband additions went to cable in the second quarter of 2008).
The phone guys even lose out on bundled services. Of the 60 percent of users surveyed who had a bundled service plan (usually a combination of voice, video and data), only 31 percent purchased their bundles from a telecommunications firm. The remaining 69 percent bought their bundles from a cable provider, but that doesn’t mean they like it; twice as many consumers would actually prefer to bundle communications services with a phone company as with a cable company.
This could be a case of the grass being greener, but I do think IP services built on faster fiber-to-the-home networks like Verizon’s FiOS service, could beat cable. I’m less convinced that AT&T’s fiber-to-the-node strategy will be as compelling, since the speeds are more comparable to today’s cable speeds.
source: CFI Group
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10:01 AM PT
[...] better align the company as it competes against the cable carriers. Just yesterday we noted how the phone companies have a hard time attracting customers to their triple-play bundles because of speed issues on DSL lines. Once those broadband connections are upgraded, the ability to [...]
3 comments so far
5:46 PM PT
Sorry, by why do you have a chart on “reasons for switching.” The statistics you quoted show that 2/3 of the consumers out there prefer cable to phone services. You should have a chart showing “reasons for choosing cable.”
Having said that, the overwhelming reason for switching was cost — not a good sign for the telephone cos. I was tempted to look into FIOS, because I have wierd slowdowns that make me suspicious, but no more.
6:34 PM PT
Could it be that FIOS is terrible. The cost increases every time you turn around. Plus, the service is the worst ever. They make the cable company’s service seem great.
Avoid FIOS like the plague. I tried it and learned the hard way.
8:23 PM PT
I wish I had the option to experience how terrible FIOS is.
I’m stuck with Comcast and not only are the pricing crazy (compared to what I’m used to) but they have by far the worst customer service that I’ve experienced.