Cable will continue to dominate broadband access over the next four years as U.S. households move to high-speed Internet access, according to new research from Boston-based Yankee Group. Cable’s greater availability, lower prices, and quicker installation services will supersede offerings by competing technologies including satellite and fixed wireless to put cable subscriptions in an estimated 15.7 million U.S. households by 2005, say Yankee analysts.
By comparison, DSL will grow to 10.5 million households; satellite, 4.5 million households; and fixed wireless access such as multi-channel, multiunit distribution system-based access, some 359,000 households.
But while cable will lead for the next few years, other high-speed access Internet technologies will slowly gain market share, according to Yankee. Currently, installation service and differences among other services and pricing are differentiating the various high-speed access options. However, as service and price packages become standardized across multiple platforms, the type of broadband access will become secondary to the value-added services and content providers offer in driving consumers’ choices for high-speed home connectivity, says Yankee.
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