rip_sketches
join:2002-05-25
Dallas, GA
| Unfortunately i don't know weather to believe this story, the one i saw earlier this year, or the article last year that reported this same thing.
I believe the truth is in the middle that sometime during the past 12 months all internet users tipped the scales to 50/50 dialup vs broadband respectfully. I read an industry paper that reported some of the same statistics earlier this year.It also stated that now the real uphill battle for providers has come.
They have 2 choices. Do something to bring more dial up users who are in the availability areas onto broadband OR extend the reach of broadband further into rural areas.
The problem with the first is that the industry knows its the prices that are keeping available dialup users away. These dialup users don't see any benefit to migrating to a faster service. So in effect, seeing no benefits, paying an extra $20-40 for these users isn't gonna get them to sign on. I think we still need a $20-$24 broadband tier be it something as low as 384/128. That way people would be willing to come off dialup for the same price they already pay for dialup. Then when they see the benefit and want a faster speed all they need to do is upgrade their packages since they will now be locked into a 1-2yr contract.
Otherwise its going to be massive rural rollouts and right now the industry is realizing that while they can do this they will never see the same types of profit they have experienced by saturating Urban and Suburban areas. Remember the bottom line to these companies are profits.
And when the growth starts to go stagnant so does their profit margins. |
