[LINK] New opposition spokesperson for broadband

[Scott Howard]

On Mon, Sep 22, 2008 at 8:49 PM, Glen Turner <gdt at gdt.id.au> wrote:

> The economics are really unclear. Verizon is charging an installation
> of US$70 with a minimum rental of US$40 per month.  That's US$550
> for the one-year contract.  That implies a FTTH network for Australia


The dynamic is also very different in the US - particularly around pay TV.

Around 90% of all households in the US have pay TV of one form or another
(Cable, FIOS or Satellite - my apartment doesn't even have an antenna, only
a cable socket on the wall).  In most cases, bundling pricing will mean that
users will use the same provider for pay TV and phone as they will for
Internet.

So whilst the minimum rental may be US$40, the expected total rental would
be closer to US$100 or more per month, and it's very possible that the US$40
is a loss-leader in the expectation that most subscribers will end up paying
much more.

  Scott.