Comments on: As Broadband Growth Slows, Telcos Lose Out

By: Can the Free Market Provide Broadband for Everyone?

Can the Free Market Provide Broadband for Everyone? — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:34:46 +0000

[...] while there’s concern in the U.S. cable and telecommunications industries over growth in their fixed line businesses, what we really should be pondering is [...]

By: After a Shaky 2008, U.S. Broadband Growth Picks Up

After a Shaky 2008, U.S. Broadband Growth Picks Up — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:36:19 +0000

[...] in the third quarter. 2008 was the first year we saw some serious slowdown in broadband growth. According to Pike & Fisher, a research firm, broadband growth will decline 12 percent in the U.S. but subscriptions will rise about 8 [...]

By: Telephony’s Tale of The Tape: Shrinking Telecoms

Telephony’s Tale of The Tape: Shrinking Telecoms — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:21:10 +0000

[...] did rest go? Mobile! And as we pointed out earlier, as this depression continues, people are opting to keep a single line – preferably mobile, and preferably from lower cost mobile providers such as Metro PCS and [...]

By: Mariette Johnson Wharton

Mariette Johnson Wharton — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 06:24:28 +0000

Stacey points to the cord-cutting going on. Carriers looking to stem landline losses will need to add value beyond plain vanilla phone service. We’re beginning to see broadband users move away from traditional phone service and adopting Vidtel’s new telephony service as a “more for less” option. (Once teasers wear off, many people are paying $50 a month for phone service, so the average annual cost is $600. We’re seeing a trend of cable users dumping the traditional phone service in lieu of Vidtel’s $249.95/year telephony service that offers not only unlimited phone calling in the US and Canada but also video calling and video mail). Of course, today the service requires a video phone for $199.95 but adding that, it’s still a 25% cost savings for many even in the first year ($450 vs. $600..after year one, it’s 40+% cheaper). In this economy, anything saving $150 catches attention. When it starts solving another problem, people really wake up. Phone calling alone is not satisfying the need for people to connect. Wiith travel budgets slashed, we lose face time with people important to us. Here, someone will argue that video chat is mainstream but the irony is that it is the awareness, not usage (less than 1% of the population uses Skype), that is widespread. Let’s not forget the 99% of the population who are not as tech-savvy or who simply are too busy to coordinate video chat.

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:50:32 +0000

Why is cable projected to win 75% of new accounts? Adding DSL to a phone line in Northern California can cost $15/month, far less than cable. Sure, DSL is slower, but I would have thought that price is more important than performance these days. Are the new cable broadband users ditching their land lines altogether?