[sllug-members]: Bad UTOPIA news - let's do something about it

[Steve]

Would it be feasible at all to price services at say $2/Mb below a
certain threshold of say 10Mbps?
With that price you could offer a "lifeline" type service to folks who
have dialup and traditional phone service, by my math it would be a
cost to them of about $15-20 per month.  Which is still less than a
POTs + ISP service.

>From there you could use traditional upselling techniques to convert a
fairly high percentage of those who opt for lifeline service, over to
the more profitable $45 for 30Mbs (at least I hope thats profitable
for you because otherwise your really losing your shirt on me at $50
for 50Mbps), over time.

Just a thought, but it would basically put Qwest and Comcast on notice.
More importantly it would allow Utopia to fulfil one of it's goals (as
I understood them to be when I first signed up anyways), of providing
ubiquitous broadband to everyone but especially those in poor areas,
who are the most in need of it for things like homework, distance
education etc.

I dunno I guess I've always viewed Utopia as more of an essential
infrastructure equation, i.e. bits flowing like water and of course
indoor plumbing is considered a necessity nowdays.

Sincerely,
Steve


On Jan 3, 2008 3:35 PM,  <warrenw at xmission.com> wrote:
> Quoting Jason Edwards <jtanium at gmail.com>:
>
> > So, then, what's the deal?  If people in a UTOPIA enabled footprint
> > are being bombarded with ads, why is the adoption rate so low...?
>
> The $202 million question.  Here are some observations:
>
> Opposition is playing with numbers a bit.  In citing the current
> percentages, they usually play up the actuals against the originally
> proposed time frame, which was severely delayed by RUS funding and
> legal obstructions from Qwest.  If you actually consider the
> percentage of subs per residences that have it available, the numbers
> are still short, but not anywhere near as damning.
>
> MDU support was mishandled.  A large percentage of population in these
> cities are in apartment complexes that don't have UTOPIA available at
> all.  PacketFront is trying to address this issue now.
>
> Poor selection of early footprints.  Areas were built out largely
> based on proximity to the main framework, and often ended up being
> those areas that are less interested in these sorts of services.
>
> Incumbent pressure.  Some UTOPIA communities have seen incumbents
> drastically discount their prices which makes even UTOPIA costs seem
> high.
>
> As mentioned in this discussion, poor overall education.  Some people
> just don't understand what it is.  This has been a pet peeve of mine
> for a couple of years, although I freely admit that direct marketing
> makes sense for the immediate sale.
>
> People surveyed said "Yeah, I'd love to subscribe to that kind of
> service."  But when the piper called, they realize they're stuck in a
> two year contract and aren't willing to bet their phone and TV on a
> company they never heard of, anyway.  I predict this take rate will
> greatly increase as time passes.
>
> Fear of early adoption.  We all know there is a price to be paid for
> being new to technology.  Some people just aren't willing to gamble on
> the stability of their phone or TV and want to give it a few years
> before they take the plunge.  Again, more reason I expect take rates
> to drastically increase as time passes.
>
> Speeds.  Another pet peeve of mine.  DynamicCity and PacketFront have
> always wanted to exploit the potential speeds of fiber.  And while
> that's all well and good, some people just have no interest whatsoever
> in 15 or 50 Mbps of internet, but just want be able to use the phone
> and internet at the same time for much less monthly cost.  UTOPIA
> currently has no solution for these users, and that is a mistake I am
> personally attempting to correct.
>
> All the other reasons, well, we're still trying to figure those out.
> There is no model anywhere in the world UTOPIA can look to for
> guidance.  It is completely unique, and as such we're learning as we go.
>
>
>
> Warren S. N. Woodward
> Director, Broadband Services
> XMission Internet
> warrenw at xmission.com
> (801) 303-0819
> (877) XMISSION  ext 119
>
>
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