Clash Over Canadian Broadband Caps

Among global nations, Canada is one of the most restrictive in terms of broadband usage caps. Recently, some major Canadian ISPs lowered their monthly caps to 25 Gb (a reduction of 90% or more for some providers), causing a stir among Canadian consumers. Since nothing gets the attention of political folks quite like angry voters, Canada's Prime Minister and Industry Minister have joined the fray, stating that Canada's regulatory agency (the CRTC) needed to rethink their approach. With the increased usage of video streaming and other bandwidth hungry applications, this clash seems like one that was destined to happen.

Will the CRTC back down? What do you think?

UK Government Broadband Plan - The £98 Computer

Borrowing a page from computing projects in developed nations, Martha Lane Fox, the UK's "digital tsar", recently announced a program that will offer refurbished computers to UK consumers. These PC systems will be priced at only £98 and will include wireless broadband, flat panel screens, keyboard, mouse, telephone tech support, and delivery. Over 60 retail outlets are planning to sell these systems.

With a price that low for PCs, the UK will be performing an interesting experiment in supply and demand. The basic assumption of the program is that consumers cannot afford PCs. The interesting question will be whether the PC "have-nots" actually want a PC or to be online. While many of us who live and die by our e-mail and online access, there is a segment of the populace that just does not see the value of being online. So, will those without PCs snap up these £98 goodies? Will they be purchased by existing PC owners as computers for the kids? Will application developers spend their resources to create versions of their apps to run on these platforms (likely to be Linux)? Time will tell...

Senior Analyst interviewed at TelcoTV 2010

Brett Sappington, Senior Research Analyst from Parks Associates recently spoke at TelcoTV 2010. IPTV Magazine caught up with him to interview him for the IPTV blog.

How Access Providers Can Keep Broadband Customers – Research on Services that Increase Subscriber Retention!

There are some services that access providers can offer that increase subscriber retention rates. Brett Sappington from Parks Associates explained to me at TelcoTV that their research of 3,000 homes shows that some access providers are losing competitors to alternative access providers while other access providers are keeping their subscribers longer. In their report, bundled services increases customer retention by 20% and increases average revenue per user (ARPU) by over 11%.

Service quality exceeds price in customer satisfaction as 35% of satisfied bundled customers are unlikely to switch to another provider despite possible cost savings. These satisfied bundled customers are willing to pay 11% more for their services on average. Bundled services include Internet, voice, wireless voice, and television services. These and other key discoveries in the report show that subscribers are willing to pay a premium for “one-stop” bundled services if the right services and conditions are offered.

Parks Associates Sr. Analyst Addresses Growth of TV Everywhere Offerings and Value-Added Services at TelcoTV 2010

Brett Sappington, Senior Research Analyst at Parks Associates, is moderating “New Revenue Options- Monetizing the Digital Home” on November 10 at TelcoTV 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The session includes insight on value-added service offerings with the greatest potential to build consumer satisfaction and provide incremental revenues for service providers. Other speakers include: Tom Chmielewski, VP, Worldwide Sales, uControl; Dan Moffat, CEO, GTA TeleGuaml; and, Rich Nesin, Executive Director, HomePNA.

TelcoTV is the only major North American event designed to help telecom service providers explore all their options while remaining focused on the bottom line. The conference sessions are packed with expert advice and commentary from industry experts and peers who are making video services work.

Parks Associates Analyst Presents at Multimedia over Coax Alliance

Brett Sappington, Senior Reseach Analyst at Parks Associates will be presenting at the Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA).

MoCA is hosting an interactive workshop being held at TelcoTV in Las Vegas, on Tuesday, November 9, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Speakers and case study presentations will feature pay TV operators and integrated service providers including Verizon, Comcast, Cox and DirecTV. Parks Associates will provide an overview of integrated service provider and pay TV market trends.

For the more information, please click here.

Uncertainty is Holding Back Consumer Spending on Digital Content

When it comes to paying for digital video, consumers are faced with a significant amount of uncertainty, enough to keep them from more actively spending.

If a consumer decides to watch a movie or TV program, they likely do not know if they have already paid for that content. So, they have to consider checking their channel listings (is it on Bravo or HBO currently?), their DVR (did I record that?), their Netflix subscription (is it an Instant View or do I have to wait for a disk?), free VOD or catch-up TV, and perhaps Hulu or other options. And this is all assuming that they know in advance the specific content for which they are searching. (If you add in the additional decision of which content that they might want to watch, the decision process becomes a real headache.)

Some in the industry are taking notice. TiVo is specifically addressing this issue by improving their search feature to allow searches across content sources (linear, DVR, online, etc.), allowing consumers to see the content to which they have access. By seeing what video is "theirs", will consumers be more willing to spend to add to their "collection" of available video?

State of the Worldwide Digital Television Market

The global market for television services continues to grow despite persistent economic challenges throughout the world. Most of this growth is occurring in digital technologies, with digital terrestrial and cable services supplanting their analog counterparts while IPTV providers fight to increase their piece of the television services pie.

Increased awareness of what is possible on the TV has driven consumer interest in these services, and competition has caused many providers around the globe to evaluate and introduce advanced TV features that leverage digital technologies. Companies in developed nations, including North America and Europe, are rolling out on-demand, interactive, and time/place-shifting offerings. Several providers in emerging markets, such as China and India, are working on digitalization of their services, and they are exploring the new features made possible by this technological shift.

To read more about the State of the Worldwide Digital Television Market, subscribe to Parks Associates' European Research Update Newsletter.

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Opposition to Project Canvas

As Project Canvas moves closer to reality, those that have the most to lose are mounting their opposition to the initiative. The Wall Street Journal today writes that Six TV, the largest holder of local TV licenses in the UK, has requested an investigation of Project Canvas by Ofcom. Six is not one of the member companies involved in Canvas and fears that the initiative will reinforce the dominance of the UK's traditional broadcasters.

Virgin Media and IP Vision have also lodged protests with Ofcom in hopes of slowing or derailing Canvas. Virgin is the UK's leading cable firm, and IP Vision currently sells its own Internet TV set top box. Reportedly BSkyB, the major DTH provider in the UK, may file a protest of their own.

In a very competitive market, opposition to Project Canvas is not surprising and will likely increase as we draw closer to the 2011 launch of Canvas-based boxes and services.

Parks Associates' Senior Research Analyst speaks at Digital Media Pipeline '10

Parks Associates is supporting the Digital Media Pipeline on September 15 in Los Angeles, CA.

Brett Sappington, Senior Research Analyst, Parks Associates will be presenting on TV Services and consumer habits during the Research Session on Wednesday, September 15 from 11:40 AM – 12:45 PM.

Digital Media Pipeline offers an opportunity for digital retailers, content owners and aggregators, and technology and service providers to share learnings and experiences in the business of retailing digital entertainment. This young industry is growing quickly, and new technologies and new business models are developing and testing almost weekly. Digital Media Pipeline offers opportunities for collaboration among partners in the supply chain.

For more information, click here.