Do People Want Broadband?
from the topic-of-the-month dept
It seems that the topic of the month is whether or not people actually want broadband access into their homes. There’s some evidence that maybe they just don’t. However, this article has one interesting point that I haven’t seen talked about elsewhere. They say that some of the blame for low broadband adoption is due to the way in which advertisers are promoting broadband. Instead of trying to show the value proposition, both cable and DSL providers are trying to show why the other kind of broadband sucks. This makes people hesitant to sign up, because they’re afraid of picking the “wrong” standard. Instead of working together to grow the entire market, they’re beating each other up over a smaller market. On that note, though, it appears that cable is winning that war. Not that it really matters, but my experience with broadband has been completely negative when dealing with DSL, but very positive (so far…) with cable.
Comments on “Do People Want Broadband?”
Cable modems to date.
I am looking to get off of my present modem solution.
I can get cable, but can’t get DSL, unless I go with the local Telco. (SBC)
So:
Send my money to SBC, a company who’s service sucks SO badly, a company that has worked to restrict local competition.
OR:
Send money to Time Warner, of the AOHell TimeWanker beast…the beast that buys DMCA and SSSCA legislation.
The only reason cable is winning the war is because the incumbant telco is working to ‘protect’ its old product lines.
No problemo
I have cable at home, and DSL at work. I’ve had both for over 2 years now, and I’ve had absolutely no problems with either. They both seem to do the job well, and both are reasonably priced.
I have absolutely no complaints.
Broadband Acceptance
It may be that they’re just marketing broadband to the wrong people. Both my parents and my in-laws have access to both cable and xDSL service yet neither of them seems interested in upgrading from their dial solutions. Both couples are in their mid-50s.
Older folks seem insterested in the internet. Maybe it’s because they’re less mobile. Younger, tech-savy folks seem interested in the internet … usually for music, gaming, or porn =) There’s a driver for broadband access. Yet the baby-boomers seem complacent with dial up speeds.
Thoughts?
bm
Cable
And I have cable at home, DSL at work and used to have DSL at home (when I could get it).
Cable here (Ottawa) is very fast… when it works… Which is intermittent. I know of at least a dozen others who have suffered month+ long outages in the last year alone.
The moral of the story is that the one that is better depends on where you are..