DSL Beats Cable in Vote for Converged Services
Over three-fourths (79 percent) of those with both cable TV and DSL would cancel their cable subscription if they could receive telephone, Internet and TV services from their telco, a new poll has revealed. More than half (55 percent) of the respondents would also choose their telco over the cable operator as the single provider of these services.
2Wire, a provider of broadband service platforms, polled 2,000 DSL subscribers to identify the major factors driving consumer demand for converged services. The majority of respondents indicated that they would subscribe to Voice over IP (VoIP), or would consolidate their telephone, Internet and TV services to a single provider, with the strongest motivation being cost savings.
Just under three-fourths (73 percent) said that the ability to save money with volume discounts is what would most drive them to switch to a single provider. The survey reveals that 91 percent would switch their traditional phone service to VoIP if they found out their telco was now offering the service. To break it down further, 32 percent would do so without hesitation and 59 percent would switch if offered significant savings.
The poll also identified the main motivations for implementing multi-media home networks. More than a quarter (28 percent) of consumers expressed the opinion that having shared access to music, movies and photos around the home would make family life or apartment-sharing easier. A further 40 percent said the key benefit is that rooms would no longer have fixed functions. For example, the most popular feature among respondents was the ability to watch a movie on a TV downstairs, pause it, then continue watching from the bedroom.
Being able to remotely access a home network was also considered important, with 26 percent of respondents saying they would like to access media on the home network from outside the home, and 18 percent considering the ability to remotely monitor their home by Webcam to be a top benefit of multi-media networking.
"Cost savings is definitely a powerful lure for bundled services," said William Cheek, an analyst for Parks Associates. "As we found in our study Bundled Services: Analysis and Forecasts, the bundle in itself is not enough. Service providers must offer additional value through pricing or features like home networking."
"Cost savings is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the benefits of converged services. Convenience and flexibility of these and future services will also be key for the always-connected digital lifestyle," said Brian Sugar, VP of marketing at 2Wire. "Telecom service providers, with their existing investments in data networking applications and their ability to offer services that span wireless and wireline voice, data, and entertainment, are in a unique position to capitalize on this market opportunity."
About 2Wire
2Wire is a provider of broadband service platforms for the DSL market. 2Wire's suite of solutions offers DSL providers an integrated 'triple-play' of data, voice, and media services. 2Wire's products and services include the award-winning HomePortal® residential gateways, the MediaPortal™ digital entertainment services platform, and a robust Component Management System (CMS) for service management and provisioning. 2Wire's products are distributed exclusively by the major DSL service providers including SBC Internet Services, British Telecom plc and Telefonos de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. Headquartered in San Jose, California, 2Wire was founded in July 1998 by Brian L. Hinman, a co-founder of PictureTel Corporation and Polycom, Inc. 2Wire and HomePortal are registered trademarks of 2Wire, Inc. MediaPortal, Greenlight, and HyperG are trademarks of 2Wire, Inc.
Source: press release
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