Consumers want it all

Consumers want faster Internet access and cheaper prices, right?

Apparently not. In the U.K., where broadband service speeds are going up and prices are falling, customer satisfaction is going down.

Customer service in what is one of the globe's most competitive markets is lacking, as evidenced by complaints of average hold times on service calls of 17 minutes and concerns that service is less reliable. A rise in customer dissatisfaction usually leads to higher churn, compounding the cost to service providers.

Alternatively, customers in much of Verizon's territory aren't seeing faster DSL any time soon, according to Teresa Mastrangelo, because the U.S. giant is focusing its investments on the FiOS fiber-to-the-curb network and not planning to upgrade its remaining copper plant.

If it continues, that trend is likely to leave a lot of Verizon customers seriously disgruntled, especially as they see neighbors getting blazing fast service over fiber optics while their own neighborhoods languish on aging copper that isn't getting an upgrade.

So what's worse -- getting the speed without the service or having a service-oriented provider that won't deliver on speed?

Obviously, a competitive service provider is going to have to do both. That's why I expect to see two global giants -- BT finished at the bottom of the UK rankings, by the way -- consider some new investing. Verizon has yet to succeed in spinning off its New England loops to FairPoint -- the deal is still caught in regulatory limbo -- and it's unlikely to be willing and/or able to simply dump portions of its service territory where it doesn't find FiOS to be feasible.

Verizon will have to upgrade its copper network, eventually -- the question is, how long can it postpone that investment?

E-mail me at cwilson3@telephonyonline.com.