SureWest is joining the telco broadband upgrade wave by announcing no-cost upgrades for its FTTH Internet tiers. Joining recent moves from Verizon that focus on upstream bandwidth, the new packages from SureWest provide symmetrical bandwidth speeds:
New Speed (Mbps) Current Speed (Mbps)
upload / download upload / download
3 / 3 3 / 1
15 / 15 10 / 10
25 / 25 20 / 20
SureWest also offers a symmetrical 50 Mbps service. Upstream bandwidth appears to be the telco community’s latest weapon against cable competitors. “Our key to differentiating SureWest from the competition is our ability to deliver value and reliability to customers through cutting-edge products and features over our superior fiber-optic network. This free speed upgrade enhances the Internet experience for our customers and continues to allow us to outperform the competition with the fastest connection speeds wherever we serve,” said Pete Drozdoff, vice president of marketing for SureWest in a company statement.
Indeed, Cable has a challenge in matching the upstream capabilities of FTTH platforms, like those being used by SureWest, Verizon, and other telcos across the globe. How will they respond?
As far as cable is concerned, FTTH is not too much of a worry. It’s simply not widely deployed enough, nor will it be for years to come. What percentage of homes does/will it pass in total – 20% or so? Cable’s main competitor is DSL, which DOCSIS 3.0 will crush.
In areas where it does compete with FTTH, it has a formidable competitor, but it will still get a piece of market share – just ask Cablevision (ok, most won’t match Cablevision). Combine that market share with its dominant position in non FTTH markets, and cable will be just fine.