RESULTS: NMRC IN THE NEWS
Pacific Research Institute and NMRC Release of Sonia Arrison Report
'Being Served: Broadband Competition in the Small and Medium Sized Business Market'
October 20, 2003
This jointly released Pacific Research Institute (PRI) and NMRC study shows fierce competition in the SME Broadband market. PRI's Sonia Arrison documents that the SME market is well served by multiple broadband providers.
Press Reports
MEDIA COVERAGE
OCTOBER 20, 2003
TR Daily
Study: Small Businesses Will Generate Robust Demand for Broadband Service
Roughly half of all small-to-medium sized businesses in the U.S. plan to boost broadband service usage in the next year, presenting solid market opportunities for cable modem and DSL (digital subscriber line) service providers and arguing against any move to focus additional regulatory effort on that market, according to a study released by the Pacific Research Institute and the New Millennium Research Council.
A summary of the report released today states that 59% of medium-sized businesses, 49% of small businesses, and 43% of very small businesses plan to boost their Internet usage through 2004. Those trends, the study's sponsors say, will present cable modem and DSL service providers with a $10 billion-$15 billion opportunity over the next five to 10 years.
The so-called SME market of small-to-medium sized businesses is "well served by multiple broadband providers and competition is expected to grow more intensely over the next few years," said Sonia Arrison, the report's author. Those findings, the report states, run counter to the bases of consideration under way at the FCC to carve out a separate product market segment for the SME market. "Instead, the FCC should allow this market to develop without further government involvement," Ms. Arrison said.
Communications (and Internet) Daily
Cable modem and DSL will be the key drivers for the $10- $15 billion broadband growth in the small and medium enterprise (SME) markets over the next 5-10 years, the Pacific Research Institute and the New Millennium Research Council said in a report. The report said 43% of very small businesses, 49% of small businesses and 59% of medium businesses expected to increase their Internet usage in the next year. Other findings: (1) Small businesses' use of Internet services was expected to grow 74% by the beginning of 2004. Half of those businesses said they would buy cable modem services. (2) 62% of cable operators surveyed said they offered some kind of broadband services aimed at small and medium-sized businesses. Analysts believe that cable operators can capture 30-50% of that segment over time.
