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Are Quad-Play Bundles the Future of Telecom?
New research indicates that consumer interest in quad-play bundles is growing rapidly.
A recent article in Telephony Online about recent research from Compete indicates that consumer interest in a quad-play of services grew 55 percent in just 8 months. Currently only 19 percent of purchase bundles include wireless, but up to 43 percent said they would be interested in buying it.
The online survey polled 2,500 people about their attitudes on the matter. A collaboration between AT&T and Qwest on a quad-play generated about a 60 percent awareness while the Pivot partnership between Sprint and some cablecos garnered very low numbers; small wonder perhaps that Pivot seems headed for dissolution.
So what is the problem with Pivot? The cable companies say operational "complexities" were to blame. Was there just a lack of commitment for working with a partner? Maybe, but clearly the public is interested in the service if companies can garner their attention and provide a compelling product.
A bigger question maybe is what does this mean for the industry. Will quad-play become a staple of the future with the telco and cable companies? Or will "complexities" in equalizing coverage areas, billing and provisioning push this opportunity into the future?
What seems clear is that customer understanding of how such as service could leverage them best is not yet mature. There exists real possibilities for carriers to make lots of money with these types of blended services.
Tim Sanders
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