What's More Important to Broadband Users: High Speed or Free Phone Lines?

June 1, 2000
Consumers want a faster Internet. Not surprisingly, respondents in a recent survey of 600 broadband users ranked high speed as the most important benefit to their adoption of broadband services, although having an instant Internet connection was not far behind.On a scale of one to five, with five being "extremely important," high speed scored a 4.8, and instant connection scored a 4.3, while constant

Consumers want a faster Internet. Not surprisingly, respondents in a recent survey of 600 broadband users ranked high speed as the most important benefit to their adoption of broadband services, although having an instant Internet connection was not far behind.

On a scale of one to five, with five being "extremely important," high speed scored a 4.8, and instant connection scored a 4.3, while constant Internet connection, broadband content, and freeing up the phone line ranked between 3.6 and 3.7.

Part of Parks Associates' Broadband Access @ Home study, the survey contains a sample of 600 broadband users (cable modem and DSL) in New York, Atlanta, San Jose, Calif., and Phoenix (where both cable modem service and DSL are available). Key findings from the survey include: * Before adopting broadband, 4% of the subscribers used ISDN, and 66% used a 56K modem. * Among the broadband users surveyed, 9% say the monthly fees for broadband services are either partially or completely paid for by employers. * Fifty-nine percent of broadband subscribers had a separate phone line for dial-up Internet access in the past; 42% stopped using that separate line after adopting broadband services. * The top three qualities of broadband services users dislike most are a high monthly fee, service outage, and variance of speed.

For more information, contact Steve Harvey at (972) 490-1113.

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