December 2010

The Federal Communications Commission's April 2010 survey sought to understand the context surrounding people's decisions about their home broadband service. Specifically, the survey explored the considerations people have in mind when contemplating or making a change in broadband service. This involved asking people who have not switched service providers whether they considered doing so and what influenced their decision to stick with their provider.

For those who have switched service, the survey inquired about why they did so and how the process of changing service went for them. The survey found that, at least in the prior three years, a minority of home broadband subscribers switched service providers. The survey also found that there are things that inhibit users from switching service, such as the need to pay set-up fees for new service and the basic hassle of making a switch. Those who have switched broadband providers are typically looking for better price or performance, and very few switched because they want additional features from their providers such as more email accounts or online storage.

Here are the survey's main findings:

• Just over one-third of Internet users changed their service provider in the prior three years.
• Among those who have not switched Internet service providers (ISPs) in the prior three years, few have considered making a change in ISP service.
• Among broadband users who say they have a choice of Internet service providers, a minority would seriously consider switching to a provider in their area and a majority thought it would be at least somewhat easy to do.
• Financial and non-financial factors, such as installation fees or the hassle of getting new service, can inhibit consumers from changing service.
• Internet users who have switched service in the past three years cite a desire for better service or price as a reason for their change. Very few of those who changed service said it was because they wanted more features from their provider, such as more email accounts or online storage.

As the Federal Communications Commission prepares to vote on an Open Internet regulation, Verizon and the Consumer Federation of America agreed that Internet users will be the linchpin of any successful effort to govern the web.

"Consumers will be at the center of enforcement," Kathy Brown, a Verizon executive said during an event at the Brookings Institution on Internet policy making. Mark Cooper, research director of the Consumer Federation of America, agreed, but called for a system to ensure success of the consumer's involvement. "We need principles from above, a set of structures in the middle, and a crowd on the bottom to do the policing," Cooper said. Such a system would be able to answer questions about who gets to complain, which behaviors are objectionable, what the consequences are for violators, how to register complaints, and then know what actions were taken to address complaints, Cooper said.

Some state regulators and rural Internet providers worry that the National Broadband Plan is going to leave people living in rural areas behind even as it ushers urban residents into a world of affordable, lightning-fast Internet access.

“The National Broadband Plan that’s been released by the Federal Communications Commission, while well-intended, contains a lot of bad news for South Dakota,” said Dusty Johnson, an outgoing Republican commissioner on the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission. The National Broadband Plan has three general goals – that all Americans should have access to high-speed Internet, that all should be able to afford it and that all should be able to acquire the skills to take advantage of it. The plan to expand digital literacy draws nothing but praise from broadband companies and public officials. It’s the other two goals that worries people like Public Utilities Chairman Steve Kolbeck, outgoing Gov. Mike Rounds and GoldenWest Telecommunications chief executive Denny Law. As a whole, nearly two-thirds of Americans use broadband Internet at home. That number, however, is significantly lower in rural areas where only 50 percent use broadband. With limited resources to promote Internet access, which underserved populations should receive the most assistance to expand telecommunications access and affordability?

The National Broadband Plan would create a new fund, the Connect America Fund. Its goal would be to support Internet service with speeds of at least 4 megabits per second – with no regard for the location of the user. And under the plan, the Connect America Fund would receive up to $15 billion from the Universal Service Fund to accomplish its goal. The fear of rural advocates is that the Connect America Fund would focus on impoverished urban areas, where high population density makes it possible to get more bang for the buck – leaving rural areas with a financial shortfall.

Consumer Reports has declared AT&T to be the worst cellphone service provider in the country. That brings AT&T, the exclusive service provider for the Apple iPhone, to dead last behind top-scorer U.S. Cellular as well as Verizon Wireless, Sprint and T-Mobile. The company struggled in all 10 categories used to determine the rankings. Consumer Reports readers gave AT&T a score of 60, far behind the 69 they gave to second-to-last T-Mobile.