BBC NEWS | Technology | Broadband looks to up its appeal
In the UK, 80% of the population can now get broadband over their BT phone line, according to the latest figures.
But attention is now turning to what people actually do with their high-speed connection,
Leading broadband experts meeting in London this week agreed that providing suitable content, such as video and games, was of key importance.
A good quick look at 2 points to do with BB UK. One - how many people can get it? 4/5ths is a good figure but as the article points out rural areas, perhaps those who need it most in terms of development of the infrastructure are the ones still missing out.
I have previously felt Government shouldn't subsidize Broadband rollout, despite the advantages that this could bring to ntl. However the need to get the capability available to the vast majority of the UK (rather than those populous centres) should encourage the Government and its agencies to provide greater incentives - tax breaks anyone?
What do you do with it?
The second part of the article focuses on what do you do with Broadband:
While technical issues are supposedly being ironed out, more challenges such as what people do with broadband once they have it have to be addressed, industry experts say.
The rest of the article talks about the need to segment the market and target products (and services) to segments rather than the less subtle approach now based mostly on 'speed' (bandwidth). This is an area where ntl could make a significant difference. In theory cable can be more flexible than DSL and enable a variety of customer types to be offer a variety of different services. I mean I hardly use my connection during the day, so why not charge me extra if I do otherwise charge me a lower flat rate in the veneing. If a require a level of quality of servie because I am working from home, then I (or my company) can get this added service (for extra cost of course).
I think little has been done within the whole industry to really look at customer wants & needs and to try the segmentation approach. Maybe that is the correct approach in a growing market at this level of maturity? However 2003 has seen providers turn the corner into the mass market and differentiation will become the key. the faster companies can offer quality products aimed at spefici market segments the faster that growth may happen.
Maybe it will also generate the kind of interest necessary to get rural areas wired?
Posted by Paul Goodison at September 12, 2003 05:05 PM | TrackBack