Broadband Users See Service As A Must

By Mike Sachoff - Thu, 10/30/2008 - 5:18pm.

Not loyal to providers

High speed Internet customers like their service but 30 percent are willing to ditch their provider if they can find a more affordable service elsewhere, according to a report from J.D. Power & Associates.

Cost savings is cited by 69 percent of high-speed Internet customers and 40 percent of dial-up customers as the main reason they would consider switching providers.

"Even when customers aren't necessarily dissatisfied with their current provider, they're willing to switch to another provider if they find a better deal," said Frank Perazzini, director of telecommunications at J.D. Power and Associates.

"With the current economic uncertainty, and the introduction of several competitively priced high-speed service offerings, building customer loyalty should be at the forefront of every Internet provider's 2009 initiatives."

The study found that the percentage of Internet customers who subscribe to a cable modem service has increased to 41 percent in 2008 from 36 percent in 2007. DSL penetration has also increased to 30 percent from 27 percent in 2007. The number of Internet users that still use a dial-up service has continued to decrease and now accounts for 25 percent of Internet subscribers, a drop of 10 percentage points since 2007.

"Customers now view Internet service as a necessity -- not a luxury -- and they're looking for faster products capable of handling higher bandwidth," said Perazzini.

"As more movies, television shows and videos are being offered online, Internet users are looking for faster, higher quality connections to view content. With both cable modem and DSL service providing faster Internet capabilities than dial-up, users are interested in finding the best service, at the best speed, between the two connection types."

J.D. Powers ranked providers by region based on a 1,000-point scale.  In the East region Cablevision ranks highest with a score of 650.

In the South region Road Runner was tops with a score of 670. In the North Central region WOW! Had the highest score in the survey with 702. In the West region Cox Communications was the leader with 641.