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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."

4 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.

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    Mencken had it right. So glad that's old news.
    1. Re:They must be joking... by saden1 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I got Comcast and they started me of at $25 a month for 6 months and that was sweet. After the 6 months was up they started charging me $56 for it. It would have been $46 a month if I had subscribed to their cable TV package but since I don't watch TV I declined their offer. When I called them up and told them I want to cancel because Quest has offered me DSL for $29 a month. Of course, I have not intention of switching to DSL , which sucks big time around this area. Needless to say when the support/sales lady heard that I wanted to cancel she gave me a $30 a month package for 3 more months. I told here I will cancel at the end of this deal and she said well give us a call and if we have a deal in 3 months we'll give it to you. I guess I am gonna call them up and do the cancellation dance all over again.

      Moral of the story, If you tell them you want to cancel they'll do everything in their power to keep you as a customer.

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      One is born into aristocracy, but mediocrity can only be achieved through hard work.
  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.

  3. Re:in other words by fastidious+edward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    well... price wars typically trigger shakeouts where smaller competitors get driven out of business, so I'm glad price wars are not going ahead... small competitors making a viable go of it in the long run means increased competition.

    Price wars are also typical 'testing grounds' in oligopoly situations, sometimes where one large provider tests another (that price wars are not imminent suggests providers are in perfect harmony [unlikely] or have too tight margins to risk a price war), othertimes they are coordinated attempts to show the consumer what great value they get and are more spin than substance.

    Price wars are a bad thing - they cause small competitors to be driven out of business (long term this means the market in the hands of a powerful few) and the fact a company can undertake a price war means it has room to move even with discounted prices (surely bloated prices... it is in need of competition but has the 'price war' signal to any potential competition they are alert and the going will be rough).

    Price wars are never a good thing.

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