The Pressure Is Mounting

Cable World, Oct 6, 2003

Byline: BRIAN SANTO, KAGAN

Both MSOs and the Baby Bells attracted fewer new high-speed data subscribers in Q2 than in Q1, but the falloff was much more precipitous for cable operators than it was for the phone companies. The Baby Bells spent Q2 experimenting with lower DSL prices, which probably accounts for the disparity in the drop-off percentages. But the second quarter is typically slow for adding high-speed data customers. The MSOs are resolutely holding the line on cable modem fees, waiting to see if lower DSL prices provide a long-term competitive advantage, especially if the MSOs continue to add value to their services.

U.S. HIGH-SPEED DATA NET ADDS