When compared with urban carriers, rural carriers are seeing less access line loss and more broadband growth on a percentage basis. This is the key finding of our most recent market report, Rural vs. Urban: Examining Residential Broadband and Access Line Trends 2008. We studied the broadband growth trends of both urban and rural carriers through calendar year 2008 and offer comparative analysis between the two. Key findings include:
- Rural telecom carriers enjoyed slightly better sequential broadband growth in 2008 than urban carriers
- In 2Q08, broadband growth slowed significantly for both sectors, but rural carriers enjoyed roughly a two-to-one sequential rate of growth over their urban counterparts in the period
- Urban residential broadband growth rebounded in 4Q08, outpacing rural residential broadband growth by over 60 percent
- Urban carriers lost 10 percent of their access lines between 4Q07 and 4Q08, while rural carriers lost 7.14 percent
The market report is available for free download at http://pivot-media.com/trends