Time Warner Cable, the second largest cable television operator, has reported a sluggish quarter for growth of its broadband Internet business. The company slipped from a 69 percent growth rate a year ago to a 23 percent increase this year.
With new broadband competition due to lower rates for DSL connections, analysts and industry watchers are trying to determine whether Time Warner’s numbers reflect a maturing of the market or is an indicator that telco competition is beginning to hurt cable’s broadband marketshare. There is no consensus.
While cable operators have maintained their prices for broadband in the $50 a month range, telcos are aggressively lowering DSL pricing to as low as $30 a month. Many cable operators, hoping to avoid a price war, have responded by increasing the connection speed of their services. It is too early to determine whose strategy will be most successful.
For more information www.timewarner.com.
