"I'll be sadly disappointed if there are any price cuts in order to increase broadband penetration."
Hi Eric- True...but cost is always the first thing people ask me when they see my @Home service. My friends who visited me last evening are your typical, middle-class Americans. They have two to four kids. They are professionals with decent paying jobs, and are invested primarily in 401k and 403b accounts. Beyond that, not a lot of extra cash on hand at the end of the month. To afford their lifestyle, they need both parents working. Am I correct in saying the bulk of Americans fit into their category? When I said AT&T@Home was $39.95 per month, they responded with a "hmmmmm." They saw the speed, but no one was hustling right out to sign up for the service. Three were online at home, and the other one wasn't. Maybe @Home isn't yet affordable to the average American. My friends need to be convinced that the additional $20 per month is worth it. They don't have an extra phone line either.
It goes back to the "gotta have." Right now, they don't gotta have it. They like the speed, but will crawl with AOL dial-up. Speed is not enough. They are not online that often either. Maybe their elementary and teenage kids are, but they're not.
Is bundling the key? An affordable monthly price that includes cable, Internet, phone, etc.? I don't know. Right now the ones snapping up the service are those that have the bucks. The students I teach come from wealthy homes. They spend $39.95 a month on dog treats for Fido. They aren't concerned about price. I think it may be a status thing with some of them. Dr. Jones next door has AT&T@Home, so we sure as heck should have the service.
Enough rambling for now,
Ed |
