TMCnet News
Study: Cable gains broadband subscribers in 3Q(Newsday (Melville, NY) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nov. 22--In the battle for broadband subscribers, cable fared well against telephone companies nationwide in the third quarter of 2008, according to a study. The top cable companies added more than 873,000 new broadband Internet subscribers in the quarter, according to the study by the Leichtman Research Group, based in Durham, N.H. By comparison, the top telephone companies added 425,000 new subscribers during the period. Verizon, which offers FiOS fiber-optic service and DSL, finished the quarter with 8.5 million subscribers nationwide, including 129,000 added that quarter. Cablevision had 2.4 million, of which 32,000 were new customers. The company's broadband market share is about 75 percent. Cablevision spokesman Jim Maiella said, "Wi-Fi is big. No other provider is doing what we are doing there, and Long Island is already lit." Newsday is a Cablevision-owned company. Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for the company, said cable companies have succeeded in consistently marketing broadband as part of their bundled services as telephone companies focused on "higher value subscribers." However, according to an unrelated study, by a 2-1 margin, consumers would prefer to get their bundled services from phone companies if they could. The second annual survey from CFI Group, based in Ann Arbor, Mich., found that cable customers unhappy with high rates and poor customer service would consider switching. Cable companies "still have the opportunity to improve their customer service and cover their Achilles heel," said Phil Doriot, program director for CFI Group, in a statement. Verizon spokesman John Bonomo said, "Verizon's FiOS services simply can't be matched by the old-school cable companies, which employ 1960s technology." The survey found that 29 percent of customers aren't even interested in bundled services, preferring instead to pick and choose which they want. Even as consumers tighten their purse strings during a doom-and-gloom economy, Leichtman said those who already have broadband Internet service will be loathe to give it up. RATING THE SERVICES Verizon's fiber-optic TV service has earned high marks from customers, while Cablevision outscored the telecommunications giant on phone and high-speed Internet services, according to recent studies by J.D. Power and Associates. Here are the companies' overall residential customer satisfaction scores for the Eastern region, on a scale of 1,000 points Television Verizon FiOS -- 677 points; rated "among the best" Cablevision -- 620 points; rated "better than most" Telephone Cablevision -- 673 points: rated "among the best" Verizon -- 640 points: rated "about average" High-speed Internet Cablevision -- 650 points; rated "among the best" Verizon -- 623 points: rated "better than most" To see more of Newsday, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsday.com Copyright (c) 2008, Newsday, Melville, N.Y. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |