New to the thread. Great, informative discussions Frank, ahhaha, etc.
Thinking about the REAL demand for ATHM (and other cable modem) service. It seems that right now mom and pop can get online, send their emails, read their news, buy their books from Amazon all at a reasonable (and affordable) 56k.
People wanting high-speed access are gamers and "tech" types (like us) who spend a lot of time online. A big market, to be sure, but definitely not close to being a majority of internet users.
So what IS the killer app that's going to drive high-speed access desire beyond the "tech" types and into the broad consumer base? Live video & telephony via the net? It's not viable as a simple solution (yet). Until mom and pop need their high-speed access as much as their telephone I think ATHM, etc, is still a very risky play. We're assuming that EVERYONE will want high-speed, without identifying what's behind that demand. Maybe as ATHM gets on with the rollout, they'll find that demand for high-speed access isn't as great as they thought, because mom and pop are doing just fine with their $19.95/month 56k vs. $50+ for ATHM.
Long ATHM (but still posing questions - products of a Jesuit education),
Jay |
