| As demand for bandwidth increases, operators must decide on which technologies, tools, and techniques to use in order to optimize existing network bandwidth or to increase the total amount of capacity available on their networks. Part of this process involves anticipating the ways consumers are using broadband access, and how they’re likely to do so in the future. Pike & Fischer has conducted a nationwide consumer survey to find out what types of demands customers are putting on broadband networks already and to forecast how those demands will expand in the coming years. We’ve found that the heavy toll on bandwidth that providers have been fearing has yet to fully materialize. But we also found signals of a forthcoming onslaught on broadband wireline connections. This report also covers the typical bandwidth requirements of popular services and applications, and provides a forecast on the demand that will be placed on broadband networks over the next five years. Includes 19 tables and charts.
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- TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Introduction
- Network Demands
- Survey Methodology
- Survey Findings
- Trends in Residential High-Speed Internet
- --Customer Satisfaction
- --Usage Trends
- Trends in Advanced TV
- Forecast and Conclusions
- TABLE OF FIGURES
- Figure 1: User Reports on Their Maximum Broadband Speeds
- Figure 2: Frequency of Home Internet Connections Being Too Slow
- Figure 3: Consumer Changes to Internet Service Over Past Year
- Figure 4: Why Consumers Drop Their Providers and Switch To Competitors
- Figure 5: Average Amount of Time Users Spend Online at Home
- Figure 6: Amount of Time Two or More People Per Household Connect to the Internet
- Figure 7: How People Spend Time on the Web
- Figure 8: Amount of Time a Household Occupant Watches Online Video
- Figure 9: Percentage of Online Video Users Watching Content in HD
- Figure 10: What Online Video Users Are Watching
- Figure 11: Online Video Users Streaming Content From PC to TV
- Figure 12: Number of HD-Capable TVs in the Household
- Figure 13: Hours of HD Content Viewed Per Day
- Figure 14: Amount and Frequency of Two or More Simultaneous HD Streams Per Household
- Figure 15: Amount of VOD Watched Per Household
- Figure 16: VOD Users Who Watch in HD
- Figure 17: Amount of VOD HD Content Consumed
- Figure 18: Broadband-Oriented Service and Typical Application Bandwidth Requirements
- Figure 19: Multi-Device Household Projections
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Most Americans Content With Their Home Internet Speeds, Survey Shows
Silver Spring, MD—Policy-makers complain that broadband service in the United States is too slow compared to service in countries like Japan and South Korea. But most American consumers are generally satisfied with their Internet service, and are not particularly concerned about speed, according to results from a Pike & Fischer consumer survey.
A majority of American households report that their home connection is only rarely or occasionally too slow, the Silver Spring, Md.-based market research provider reports. In fact, more than 60 percent of high-speed Internet customers do not even know the maximum download rates that they should be receiving in their Internet subscription packages. The findings, based on a survey of 3,000 residential Internet customers, are included in a new report, Bandwidth Consumption Trends: Analysis and Forecast.
Consumers also have found no compelling need to pay more money to get faster Internet speeds. Only 23 percent of broadband households in the past year upgraded to a new service tier that delivers faster Internet access. The 12 percent of households that did switch providers were attracted to price breaks more than they were to data speeds.
“This household devotion to the status quo could reflect recession-induced consumer frugality—higher-speed tiers typically cost more money,” said Scott Sleek, Pike & Fischer’s Director of Broadband Advisory Services. “But it could also show that, for all the hype about consumer demand for faster Internet speeds, most Americans are simply satisfied with what they’re getting now.”
The report, which also includes details on how Americans are using their high-speed Internet access, is priced at $649 and is available for purchase at www.broadbandadvisoryservices.com. For analyst commentary or to request a briefing, contact Scott Sleek at 301-562-1530 x291 / ssleek@pf.com.
For information about Pike & Fischer’s Broadband Advisory Services, visit www.broadbandadvisoryservices.com or contact Jonathan Wentworth Ping at 973-718-4703 / jping@pf.com.
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Scott Sleek
Scott Sleek, Director of Pike & Fischer's Broadband Advisory Services, oversees the day-to-day operations of our market research services and leads the development of analytical publications and briefings. As part of his duties, Scott serves as Managing Editor of our online newsletter Broadband Daily. Scott also oversees the development of all Research Reports & Briefs and manages the Trackers & Projections database. He regularly tracks subscriber growth, market penetration and revenue growth in the markets for high-speed Internet, packet-switched telephony, interactive TV, wireless data and other forms of broadband communications and entertainment. Scott also fields all requests for customized research and works closely with customers to fulfill their market data and analysis needs. Scott has more than 20 years of experience as a writer, editor and researcher. Contact Scott at 301-562-1530, x291 / ssleek@pf.com.
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