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US Broadband ISPs Expect Price Cuts

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the too-cheap-to-meter dept.

prostoalex writes "US broadband providers are trying to avoid the price wars, but the cost of DSL and cable hookups is still headed down with major promotions from players like Comcast and Yahoo/SBC. Currently there are 22 million US subscribers, 2 million of which subscribed during the past three months. It looks like the prices for broadband Internet are headed towards $20-30/month range, although most operators prefer to lock you into a yearly contract or provide special price for the first several months only."

2 of 284 comments (clear)

  1. They must be joking... by Frisky070802 · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I use Cablevision's Optimum Online at home. The performance ain't bad, but the price is anything but optimal. It started at $30/month, increased to $40 after a few months, and then to $45. This is in keeping with the full menu of Cablevision services, since with my digital cable package, for a few TVs, I pay over $120/month.

    My employer subsidizes up to $30/month for online access, so the cable internet cost isn't as painful as it otherwise would be. But the idea that price wars with the CLECs would drive cable internet prices down seems ludicrous, at least in this market (NJ).

    Heck, considering that when I moved to my current house (end of 1998), Cablevision promised broadband within 6 months, and kept making that promise every few months for 2 years, I was grateful to have broadband in the first place! And that's what they must count on. Competition from another cable company, if not Verizon, would be nice. But the market tanked just as a competitor was considering jumping in.

    --
    Mencken had it right. So glad that's old news.
  2. I hope... by musingmelpomene · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I hope they manage to continue developing the infrastructure for the technology. Otherwise, we're going to end up with so many cable modems per node that there won't be appreciable speed differences between cable and dialup during peak usage times. If the demand increases, but they refuse to continue to create infrastructure due to the new, lower pricing, people will be faced with higher-than-dialup fees for not much more real speed.