DSL's dilemma

DSL service providers are getting a bad rap that they probably don't deserve but have wholeheartedly earned. With demand for high-speed Internet access service starting to hit the mass market, providers are getting hammered for their perceived failings - some through no fault of their own.

Missed service appointments, 90-day turnaround times, multiple visits for installation and shoddy customer service are all tarnishing the image of DSL in the minds of mass-market users. More important than costing providers image points among potential users, the time spent repairing damaged customer relationships translates into higher operational costs in a market where margins are getting thinner than Jared Fogel on the Subway diet.

Last week's DSLcon in Boston offered a snapshot of an industry at a critical crossroad. Despite cable operators' quick jump-start in the market, most analysts and even some in the cable industry are now conceding that DSL will be the more dominant high-speed access technology because of the more pervasive nature of copper networks. However, like a paranoid rat that just waltzed into a snake pit, many in the industry are nervously watching as DSL service providers are taking their lumps over deployments that are creeping toward mass-market numbers.

The anecdotal evidence is mounting. A recent article in the New York Times detailed the difficulty of one reporter's journey from ordering service to actual installation. A Texas ISP early this year halted taking orders for DSL because SBC Communications was provisioning its wholesale service too slowly. And one of the more interesting stories evolving from the recent Verizon strike was the fact that DSL providers were hurt as much as the incumbent because they were unable to turn up new service running over incumbent copper loops.

Unfortunately for carriers, the evidence is more than just subjective observations. In a recent survey by Atlantic-ACM, RBOCs and younger DSL wholesale providers such as Rhythms NetConnections, NorthPoint Communications and Covad Communications were rated as providing only mediocre service to ISP customers.

At the same time, providers of all varieties are not paying enough attention to basic elements of service. Last week's DSLcon predominantly focused on what carriers weren't doing - like paying attention to the pragmatic issues of customer service and giving consumers simple options.

And though it's still early in the life cycle of high-speed access, small missteps can hurt in the long run. Early adopters are not only willing to pay a higher financial price for new technologies, they often have higher pain thresholds for poor customer service. Mass-market users won't be as forgiving.