Parks Associates: Faster Speed Is Biggest Broadband Churn Driver

The opportunity to boost broadband speed drives more broadband households to switch providers, or broadband churn, than do lower fees, according to new research results from Parks Associates. Nine percent of US broadband households switched providers in the past 12 months. Thirty-five percent of them switched to get faster broadband service, while 18 percent switched to take advantage of lower prices at comparable speeds, Parks highlights.

More than one-quarter of US broadband households believe their broadband speed is faster than what’s needed, however, according to Parks’ "360 View Update: The Need for Speed: Broadband and Data Consumption." Ten percent intend to upgrade to a more expensive, faster service. "Very high speed services, including gigabit-speed offerings, will be the next stage of competition among operators," said Brett Sappington, Parks' director of research. "Though few consumers today actually need that level of throughput, consumers are willing to pay to ensure that they do not encounter slowdowns or other performance problems."