US high speed internet and cable providers are constantly vying against each other to acquire more customers and to make larger amounts of profit. However, this can be both a positive and negative aspect for the consumer. Some companies want to give you the lowest price possible, while others want to take over accounts and charge people as much as they are willing to pay for the service.
Comcast Cable is known as being one of the nation’s largest providers of internet, cable television and digital phone service. They have over 25 million cable television customers in 39 different states. Comcast internet services add on an additional 15 million accounts. This is one area that Comcast has been known for being quite controversial over. They have imposed limits on how much bandwidth a customer can use, and how much uploading/downloading speed that they actually have. Comcast is also the third largest phone service provider in the United States with 6.4 million customers in that division.
Verizon Fios is one of the newest services to come out into the cable and internet scene. One of the greatest parts about Fios though is that it is run through fiber lines. This means that you will not be stuck with being annoyed by slow speeds and occasional hangups like you would with some lower end cable accounts. Fios is also able to handle more traffic and bandwidth across their network, allowing more people to browse at faster speeds. One of the biggest problems that Verizon has had with the service is actually getting people to signup. Verizon has not yet allowed many of their customers access to the service because they have not completed the massive network upgrades. It is quickly becoming available in many more areas and will be rolled out extensively by the end of 2010. There are currently 3.01 million customers who are using the Fios internet and 2.04 million who are subscribing to Fios television service.
AT&T has had some more marked success with their AT&T U-verse service. This is similar to Verizon’s Fios service, but has had a much more successful rollout. Not only does AT&T have the ability to roll out their services much more quickly, but they have an excellent marketing department. AT&T has around 7 million customers for their U-verse service. This is mostly due to their low prices, and the ability to keep them low with bundles. Using this method, you can combine not only your AT&T phone service, but your mobile phone as well as your internet to create a bundled package. AT&T then charges you one flat rate for the month, and can bill down the U-verse service to a low price such as $19.99.
While many of the newer services have not yet acquired the number of customers that Comcast has, they could in time. The key to great internet and cable service is great customer service, low cost and usability. Without all three of these factors, your company is not going to grow!
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