Consumers ready to
turn on broadband

RKS Research & Consulting and Barrington Wellesley Group found that 40% of on-line homes believe their need for faster connection speeds will grow over the next 12 months.
     BPL creates interest and "genuine switching appeal among all market segments," the study found -- especially dial-up and cable modem users.
     Some admitted contract terms could put them off -- but one in three said they would switch providers if the price was right for a faster connection.
     High-use internet households want more features -- especially more security and the ability to send e-mail attachments -- and would switch to a new provider to get or extend these benefits, said the report.
     More than half of these residential customers lean toward a bundled bill -- good news for utilities interested in offering energy, high-speed internet and possible future services such as VoIP -- on a single statement.
     With 80% of internet households now limited by dial-up technology -- and the ranks of broadband users clamoring for more speed and features -- a genuine market opportunity is emerging for BPL, said the report.
     The utility industry has been searching for its own "killer application" -- the equivalent of telecom's "caller ID," noted RKS -- "a logical extension of a core service that gains rapid entry into new retail and regulated markets."
     Advances in technology, added focus on delivery infrastructure and strong regulatory support are converging to make BPL the potential "silver bullet" the energy industry has been seeking, said the authors.
     The industry has heard predictions like that long enough to make anyone's eyes glaze over, but the possibility of beating DSL and cable in the connection-speed war plus the possibility that the FCC this Fall will establish specific regulatory requirements for BPL may change that.
     The US lags behind other countries in broadband and some rural markets lack alternatives for high speed internet, putting pressure on the FCC to encourage investment, said the report.
     Thus, with power lines reaching all corners of the country, BPL gives hope that help is on the way, noted the report.
     The study goes into much greater detail than can be covered here -- more info is available at www.rksresearch.com. 

(Story originally published in Restructuring Today 6/7/04)