Cable Vs. DSL
Net adds even, while customers flock to VoIP
(old news - 09:10AM Thursday May 04 2006)
Om Malik takes an early look at the Cable Vs. DSL battle based on first quarter earnings reports, and finds that the two outfits are pretty close when comparing net cable broadband and DSL adds. When it comes to the triple play however, as expected, cable is grabbing voice customers while telcos continue to slowly lose them. While the telcos lose landline customers:•Bellsouth lost 8.8% (120,000)•AT&T lost 6% (600,000)•Verizon lost 7% (830,000)•Qwest lost 5.2% The cable industry and other providers slowly gain VoIP customers:•Time Warner Cable added 270,000 VoIP customers•Comcast added 211,000 Voip customers•Charter added 69,000 VoIP customers•Vonage added 280,000 VoIP customers
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 rosenhayn
join:2005-06-01
Philadelphia, PA | hmmmm the power of one bill!!! | |
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Derch
Premium
join:2004-10-16
Tulsa, OK | Re: hmmmm Amen (thank you Cox)!!! | |
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Steve Mehs
Go Sabres
join:2005-07-16
| Re: hmmmm I still find the numbers between Time Warner and Vonage amazing. Time Warner serves select areas in 27 states, and not all TWC franchises have Digital Phone and even some that do don't offer it throughout the whole franchise, but yet they are the #2 VOIP provider just a hair under Vonage. | |
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Derch
Premium
join:2004-10-16
Tulsa, OK | Re: hmmmm One thing I liked about Vonage was the automatic credit card charge, I didn't mind that they charged my Bank card $15 a month. | |
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Rick
Premium,MVM
join:2001-02-06
Waterbury, CT
clubs: 
| One thing I just don't get is why..... the telco's are SO insistent on requiring that people ALSO subscribe to their phone service as well in order to get HSI.
Clearly, the previous industry explanation that you NEED it, is a lie and I think what they're really winding up doing is shooting themselves in the foot.
They are losing and will continue to lose phone customers anyway to both VOIP and cell phone users. But what they're also doing in the process is alienating people who WOULD consider and use them for their DSL services.
DSL, with its distance limitations and contracts is a hassle anyway to start with but now with their lower introductory pricing and higher speeds, it is something to consider versus the cable options that people out there have. I'm very close to my CO and with AT&T's new 6MB service, it's something I would clearly be looking at versus even my cable connection which at 4500k, would be slower and more expensive.
But yet, the telcos in their infinate wisdom have insisted that if I want DSL, then I should have to subscribe to their phone service too. I don't want their phone service and have no need for it. I do just fine now with my cell phone(s) and have no intention of going back to a landline.
But, instead of recognizing with this LOSS of phone business that there are probably now a LOT of people out there like me that they CAN capitalize on with a la carte DSL, they remain committed to bundling these two things.
My cable company charges no difference in price for cable tv vs non cable TV customers who want HSI.
Most do, but even at that the point is, they OFFER it even if you don't want cable.
But the Telco's? Except in maybe VERY limited circumstances..it's do or die for them.
Take it all, or take nothing is their motto I guess.
Well, as they bleed away hundreds of thousands of phone customers, I guess many are choosing to take nothing from them.
And that's a sad way to run their business.
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The life you help save just might be your own Team Discovery | |
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garagerock
Premium
join:2002-06-14
Louisville, KY
| Re: One thing I just don't get is why..... Indeed, and this is the very reason I ditched it all together in favor of cable/VOIP. that and a much lower monthly price, which was really nice. I did this at first to lower my costs, and fell in love with the services I got to replace DSL.
Funny how that worked out-less expensive, yet better. | |
| | Primis1
join:2005-06-13
Coldwater, MI
| What you said is all nice if you ignore all the cableco's that require at *least* Basic Video to get HSD service (which you tried to gloss over). At that point your entire argument just falls apart into a fanboy rant.
You also have forgotten to take into account that they may be losing landline customers, but that doesn't mean they're losing them to cable VOIP. You (and the article both) leap to the assumption that every single one of those losses is to VOIP.
However, they're just losing them to a wireless service that's maybe under the same roof, in most cases. Most people that ditch a landline don't get VOIP instead -- they go to cellphone-only, which of course has nothing to do with the cableco's. I know a LOT of people that ditched the landline and went to cellphone-only. I know exactly only one party that ditched and went VOIP. | |
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Rick
Premium,MVM
join:2001-02-06
Waterbury, CT
clubs:
edit:
May 4th, @04:02PM
| Re: One thing I just don't get is why..... said by Primis1  :What you said is all nice if you ignore all the cableco's that require at *least* Basic Video to get HSD service (which you tried to gloss over). At that point your entire argument just falls apart into a fanboy rant. You also have forgotten to take into account that they may be losing landline customers, but that doesn't mean they're losing them to cable VOIP. You (and the article both) leap to the assumption that every single one of those losses is to VOIP. Apparently you didn't spend much time reading my post.
I clearly stated that the telcos were losing landlines to both VOIP and CELL users and in fact stated that cell use was my reason for not having a landline.
In addition..I didn't ignore anything regarding the cable co's and stated that the negative about them is that most of them charge a premium if you don't subscribe to their cable TV service.
As far as your presumption though that they REQUIRE customers to have cable tv service, I don't think that's correct, for the majority of them anyway.
What they do instead is to require customers to pay more for the HSI instead.
Which once again, really boils down to my point.
That's not an option with most, if not all telcos.
You HAVE to have the landline to get the DSL.
And that I have the problem with. | |
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Pathfinder
Dazed Confused
Premium
join:2000-03-26
Mount Vernon, NY | Re: One thing I just don't get is why..... Verizon offers naked DSL now. It has a $5 premium. | |
| | | | TheGhost
Premium
join:2003-01-03
Lake Forest, IL
clubs:
| Re: One thing I just don't get is why..... I checked about 1/2 yr ago here and premium for Comcast HSI here in NE Illinois for non-TV subscribers was equal to cost of getting basic service (~$17).
Telco requires you to have line as a premium, while Cable will sell you service w/o, but charge you the same. | |
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Headcheese
@comcast.net | DSL is OUT To Lunch.... Cable is doing BIG business in my area ,but Verizon still can't deliver broadband. ....So what's to compare? | |
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odreian615
join:2006-01-18
Chicago, IL | not really hurting telcos as much as it seems since they own the two major cell companies Cingular picked up 5 million just last year by itself | |
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Rob A
Same Old Jets
Premium
join:2005-01-17
Pompton Plains, NJ | Voicewing 24.95 Will launch Verizon back into the game. | |
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Malik projects 3 million new BB customers in 1 qtr