Do home Internet service subscribers want faster data speeds at lower prices? The answer to that question might seem obvious to most people, but many Internet service providers in the U.S. are still not convinced of the directions service speeds and prices should be heading. When they’re not busy concocting painfully and embarrassingly awful anti-cord cutting campaigns, ISPs are hard at work trying to figure out how to strike a perfect balance between providing the quality of service their subscribers want and raking in the kind of revenue growth their shareholders demand. Regardless of how they approach the situation, it seems odd to even question whether or not customers want faster service — but as noted by a pair of recent reports, that’s exactly what Time Warner Cable has just done once again.
A recent report from local news site Louisville news site WDRB.com covered Time Warner Cable’s recent efforts in the region to strike a “balance” in response the local government’s call for vendors to express whether or not they are interested in offering gigabit Internet service in the region.
Time Warner Cable’s response? We’re not so sure people want faster service…
“Not everybody needs that type of capacity that a direct fiber network would provide, and that is what we are trying to balance out,” a Time Warner Cable spokesman told WDRB.com. “Our commitment is to look at every customer and [to ask], how do we enhance their experience?”
Interestingly, nine companies responded to Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer’s call for vendors to express their interest in providing gigabit service. Time Warner Cable was not among those listed, but it seems pretty clear that other companies see consumer demand for faster Internet speeds.
“The fact that Time Warner Cable has a city blatantly begging for faster speeds and yet they still seem to believe that they can continue offering expensive and slow Internet speeds is quite telling,” DSLReports.com’s Bill Neilson wrote. “It tells the story of how, much like other major ISP’s across the country, Time Warner Cable is a bit shell-shocked when it is forced to fight against actual, realistic competition.”
