Abstract
Internet service providers (ISPs) are companies that provide two-way data connections to a fixed location via a modem. Driving growth and change in the industry are increasing through needs and technical savvy of American consumers, and technological and infrastructural developments that increase Internet bandwidth.
This report will enable readers to make informed decisions about the rapid changes in the home Internet services market, such as increasing connection speeds, increasing consumer technical literacy, and the service and speed concerns of the users who switch ISPs. Using this report, you will be able to craft marketing strategies that take advantage of technological change; target your advertisements with regard to features, services and products; and focus new product development on Internet users' most urgent needs.
This report includes discussions of the following critical topics in the home ISP industry:
- Penetration, and the nearing maturity of the market
- Technological solutions for bringing broadband to rural America
- The rise of discount dial-up
- The potential of fiber-optic connections to the home (FTTP)
- America' s hunger for bandwidth
- Connection reliability
- Price skirmishes, triple-play, and commoditization
- The threats posed by wireless broadband, and municipal and commercial WiFi
For the purposes of this report, Internet service includes wireline and wireless delivery of fixed point service to a consumer household. This includes DSL, cable, dialup, municipal WiFi and WIMAX but does not include, for example, mobile broadband over the 3G cellular protocol.
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