BOSTON-Home networking may become yet another battleground for service providers attempting to acquire and retain customers, according to recent results of the Yankee Group’s 2003 Canadian Technologically Advanced Family Survey.
The survey showed 37 percent of Canadian broadband subscribers are interested in home networks. Moreover, 28 percent of multi-PC households and 21 percent of broadband subscribers have already installed home networks.
Meanwhile, 41 percent of households that use or are interested in using home networking said they have no networking technology preference. However, 28 percent said they prefer a wireless connection, and 14 percent said they prefer an Ethernet connection.
So far, Canada’s AOL Canada and Bell Canada’s Sympatico have both launched wireless home networking solutions. The Yankee Group suggests competing service providers increase the depth of offers, add value to the basic broadband connection, increase the possibilities for premium-priced entertainment services, and get a head start on a market that the Yankee Group believes “will become central to household life.”
