Holding onto the triple play: How costs, caps and contracts will keep ISPs flush

As customers are finding more entertainment value in broadband -- either because they are spending all night on reddit or because they are streaming movies via Netflix or Apple’s iTunes -- they are increasingly questioning the value of the cable package.

And while these people may not be the dreaded cord cutters or cord nevers, they may attempt to cut the costs of cable by going for an economy package or signing up for service and then dropping it a few months later.

Together the combination of broadband data caps, contracts and cost reductions are helping cable companies transition from being in the pay TV business to being in the broadband business while attempting to keep their margins intact. It’s a thin line, but it’s one that its rivals in the telecommunications world walked a few years ago as they transitioned from wireline voice to mobile services.