Survey: Broadband Speeds Seen as Most Important to Consumers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 12, 2008 - 6:50am.

Silver Spring, Md. - Broadband Internet speeds are seen as more important to consumers than HDTV and other new services, according to a new survey by Pike & Fischer.

The firm interviewed more than 280 executives, engineers and consultants representing the cable, telephone, satellite TV, broadcast and technology equipment industries, as well as academics and government regulators.

More than 40% ranked broadband data speeds as more important than any other service, with about one-fourth picking HDTV.

Digital phone service received the fewest top rankings, with just 9%.

"This suggests to us that, while multichannel video providers may be spending a lot of their ad dollars promoting their high-def channels and their 'triple-play' bundles, they still rely on their broadband speeds to seal the deal with customers," said Scott Sleek, the director of Pike & Fischer's Broadband Advisory Services.

"Everyone wants to claim that they offer the fastest Internet access, and believe that will be more important to customers than how many HD channels they offer."