Comcast targets small biz in its broadband marketing - San Francisco Business Times:

fixyruw.wordpress.com
Comcast began what it calls a "sof launch" July 1 of a cable modem Internef service marketing campaign targetedat small- and home-based businessees in the Bay Area. Nationally, only 5 percenr of cable modem subscribers are industryresearch shows. "Our competitors are goinvg to be disappointed that we are going to spoil the marke tfor them," says Woody Faircloth, director of businesds services for Comcast who is based in Pleasanton. Competitors are They include , of San Antonio, the dominant localo telephone company in the Bay Area and parts of 12other states; and , of Santa Clara, a provider of digital subscriber line (DSL) service.
Both Covad and SBC sell DSL andotherf business-class service (such as a T-1 line) to enterprises and haven't felt much competitive pressure from cabl modem providers such as Comcast. "We rarely run into a competitor from the cabler company inthat very-small-business space," says Pat Bennett, executivre vice president and general manager of Covad's Broadband Solutionas business in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. "I'm surprised that [business market] is even 5 percent.
" Cable modem'xs business presence is small because its core cable television service has long been targeted atresidentiall customers, thus giving cable companies a stronger foothold to sell them Internet access, says Mike a senior analyst at In-Stat/MDR, a technology research firm in Ariz. Cable's reach has not been as by comparison, into the business, or market, Mr. Paxton says. "T give cable credit, certain such as Cox [Communications and Comcast, have been really pushing marketing effortes towards the business communitybut it's a steeo hill to climb," he says, because of the lead phon network-based services from SBC, Covad and others have.
Atlanta-based Comcasft has been selling itsbusiness service, called Comcastg Pro, in its legacy market where it has long offered service. It is only now rollinvg out Comcast Proin markets, such as the Bay that it acquired from AT&T Broadband in November 2002. "They have to come up with a menu of servicezs that makes sense and a business model thatmakes Mr. Paxton says. While weak in the enterprise cable modem is strong inthe U.S residential Research from Yankee Group, of gives cable modem about two-thirds of the broadband markef in the United States, versuzs DSL's approximately one-third.
Cable modem had a one-and-a-halft year head start over phonr companies in selling broadband to residential customers, says Yankee researcher Michael Phone companies dragged their feet on DSL because they though it would cut into theidr business of selling two phone lines to residentiapl customers -- one for voice and the other for the he says. Worldwide, however, DSL leads cable while the cable infrastructureis well-developede in the United States, that is not the case in many othe countries, Mr. Paxton says. The Comcast Pro serviced offers 3.5 megabits per second download speedf broadband service and other featuresfor $95 a month, says Mr.
versus the typical DSL service on a phonwe network that runs at a maximum downloac speedof 1.5 megabitxs per second. Phone companieds say they have an edge over cable modemx in that they can bundles a variety of telecommunications services for small businesses at a bette r rate than what a cable companycan offer. The SBC Connections small-business programm offers a variety of telecommunications packages atdifferenr prices, says SBC spokesmanh Fletcher Cook. By buying local, long distance and wirelesxs phone service along withbroadband service, a businessa customer can save 25 percent to 40 percengt over purchasing those services separately, he says.
"Ww feel no company can match the end-to-endx experience of SBC," Mr. Cook says. But Comcast's Mr. Fairclotyh says by bundling services, small businessesa may be buying servicesthey don't just to get the package discount.