Study: Interest in quad play grows

Could the stars be aligning to support a new push for bundled services? According to a report released last week by Compete Inc., 43% of consumers surveyed said they would be willing to purchase wireless services from their telecom providers, adding the fourth leg to the highly sought quad play.
The Boston-based research firm’s report looks at consumers’ desire for quad-play offerings, which typically bundle wireline and wireless voice services with high-speed Internet and television. The research, conducted between March 25 and April 5, dipped into Compete’s online consumer panel, tapping both their Web-surfing habits as well as responses to specific questions on the topic.
The study showed that between one-third and one-half of consumers would be willing to add wireless services from a company providing bundled offerings if coverage matched what they were getting from their current wireless provider. That appeared to be good news for providers offering bundled services, but perhaps more so for cable companies that have yet to fully integrate wireless into their bundling plans.
Traditional telecom operators like Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. have some history in integrating their wireless efforts into their bundled strategies thanks to substantial wireless divisions, but cable companies like Time Warner and Cox have found that packaging difficult. A deal signed several years ago with Sprint Nextel Corp. to form the Pivot wireless service has been dropped.
Compete’s Ryan Burke noted that the results of the survey show that cable companies would do well to either revive the moribund Pivot offering or make their own wireless play.
Several cable companies picked up wireless spectrum in the advanced wireless services (AWS) auction through a venture with Sprint Nextel, which the carrier pulled out of last year.
The survey also found that telco providers could have a harder time selling their quad-play bundles than cable companies as consumers seemed more interested in purchasing their wireless service from a cable company then in signing up for television service through a telecom provider. Burke also added that Internet services appeared to be the lynchpin for consumers as the service is the driving force for bundled interest.
While adding more services to a customer’s package is the central goal of a bundled strategy, the Compete report noted that companies needed to be careful; costs and simplicity were the two main concerns for consumers. Few cared which company actually provided the wireless service.