When it comes to Internet delivery — streaming media, Website publishing and full-throttle audio, video and gaming excitement — broadband is the golden standard. And in the Puget Sound region, nobody is able to deliver that bandwidth like Comcast. At transfer speeds ranging as high as 3.5 Mbps for business and 1.5 Mbps downloads for residential customers, what used to be accessible only through a leased T-1 line for upwards of $1,000 a month is today available as part of a regular Comcast subscriber account for under $100. And the future? New media trend spotters tracking the convergence of television, Internet and, eventually, video telephony, needn’t look any further than the infrastructure Comcast now manages across the state of Washington, and across the national gridiron to the other Washington, to imagine the possibilities.
After acquiring AT&T’s cable television properties in November of 2002, Comcast officially became the nation’s largest cable system with 21.3 million subscribers — double the size of its nearest rival, Time Warner Cable, (of which it owns 21%). And where there’s cable yoke, there’s digital fire. Leveraging its cable pipeline, the company has become the largest provider of high-speed Internet access. It controls cable modem services to four million homes, about 20% of the the American broadband market. From $21 billion in market cap five years ago, Comcast has grown into a $70 billion empire. Telecom executives who have watched cable trounce DSL in the broadband arena are keen to see how Comcast will expand its capabilities – both for businesses and for the digital home – including the deployment of voice service over cable, something AT&T wasn’t able to figure out when it owned cable lines.
While the battle of competing broadband standards between cable and DSL can become as political and opinionated as which desktop platform to use, the numbers are decisive. Cable companies presently account for over 60 percent market share of the broadband access market, according to research by Deutsche Bank Securities. And, ironically, while cable technology could seem contradictory to the wireless world, a company like Comcast, which has yet to announce a Wi-Fi offering, can easily overlay wireless access on top of its own technology, using its coaxial cables and cable headends as hotspots.
To get a head’s up on Comcast’s progress in the Puget Sound area, Seattle24x7 interviewed Rick Germano, the Regional Senior Vice President for Comcast who is responsible for Comcast operations in Washington and Oregon.
Seattle24x7: What is your timetable for completing your geographic market coverage area in terms of service availability throughout Washington state?
Germano: Our high speed Internet service is currently available to about 80 percent of the customers within Comcast’s service area. We expect to have the service available to nearly all of our customers by the end of the year.
Seattle24x7: Given the various Internet access technologies that are available right now, what do you feel is the greatest competitive advantage Comcast has over the Telco’s and other ISPs?
Germano: It really comes down to three broad categories: speed/performance, convenience and simplicity.
Our network is reliable, and we aren’t location-based like DSL. A customer doesn’t have to live close to a central office to receive fast, reliable service. When we say our service is available in a community, we mean our entire service area, not just portions of it like with DSL.
We are convenient. When you call us, we can schedule an installation in most cases within a few days. Our service is all inclusive.
It’s simple. When you order our service, you get an ISP, seven email addresses, 10MB web space per email address and access to videos, gaming and other exclusive content developed especially for a broadband connection.
Seattle24x7: So is it accurate to say that Comcast is the region’s leader in price-performance when it comes to cost per megabyte from the consumer’s standpoint?
Germano: Yes. We currently offer 1.5 Mbps download and 256 K up for our residential service and up to 3.5 Mbps down and 384 K up for our Comcast Pro business service. We charge $42.95 a month if you own your modem and have cable TV service with us. We charge $45.95 a month if you lease a modem from us and have cable TV service. It’s $4 more per month if you do not have Cable TV service with us.
In addition to receiving exclusive content and features, we offer free firewall protection, personal web pages and access to the Comcast Photo Center. Our network will also allow us to make continuous improvements to our service and expand our offerings even more.
Seattle24x7: Why would a business customer want to consider Comcast as an Internet Service Provider over a competitor?
Germano: I think for all the reasons why a residential customer would purchase our service. We offer a fast, reliable network, 24/7 customer service and excellent value. Also, I should add that unlike other providers, we are strictly a broadband company. That means we build our network and develop content and features exclusively to take advantage of a broadband connection.
Seattle24x7: What is the biggest change in people’s lives that you feel broadband is helping to facilitate?
Germano: Broadband is changing the way people surf the Internet. With dial up, people tend to get on the Internet one or two times a day and that’s it. With broadband, our customers “snack” on the Internet throughout the day. For example, a typical customer might get on for a few minutes at a time throughout the day to check traffic and weather, make travel plans, send email, download movie trailers or make dinner reservations. All these quick snacking sessions are made possible by the fast, always-on broadband connection. The end result is that our broadband connection makes the Internet a more integral and important part of a typical customer’s life.
Seattle24x7: What is your policy regarding SPAM mail? Is there a particular solution to SPAM that you would recommend?
Germano: Comcast employs best-in-class tools to combat spam and protect our customers from unwanted mail. We work with a top vendor to implement anti-spam measures at the network level. One example of what we do: Comcast maintains an extensive custom-built list of spammers and stops messages before they reach our customers.
Seattle24x7: The Puget Sound area is a fairly tech-savvy marketplace with the presence of Microsoft, Amazon, RealNetworks and a great many other Internet leaders located here. How would you compare your customer base here to other Comcast service areas throughout the country?
Germano: All customers are becoming increasingly tech savvy. However, the fact that we have so many tech-savvy customers in our market means that we have to maintain a very high level of customer service and network performance. It’s good that our customers here in the Northwest are knowledgeable and demanding. It forces us to do a better job.
Seattle24x7: Has anything stood out for you, anecdotally, relating to your Internet services in this market?
Germano: When high speed cable modem service was launched in Seattle a few years ago, I’m told a customer once told a local newspaper: “the only way you will get my cable modem away from me is if you pry it from my dead, lifeless fingers.” Wow, now that’s what I call loyalty! [24×7]
Larry Sivitz is the Managing Editor of Seattle24x7.
