Surewest is a California independent telco that acts as an incumbent in one area near Sacramento, California and as a competitive FTTH carrier in another area also near Sacramento. Surewest has agreed to acquire Everest Broadband, a competitive carrier offering voice, data, and video broadband services in areas near Kansas City. This acquisition will complete by the end of 1Q08 and will double Surewest's IPTV subscriber base with an expected total of 54 thousand.
This is an interesting move for SureWest. There are about 1,000 small, independent telcos in the U.S., so there is plenty of opportunity for further consolidation. Surewest is a solidly managed company and should do well with this and possibly other acquisitions.
Showing posts with label Surewest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Surewest. Show all posts
Monday, December 10, 2007
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
SureWest Putting Along
SureWest added 673 IPTV subscribers in 2Q07, most of them on its FTTH network. It now has a total of 21,118 IPTV subscribers. It now has 103 thousand fiber capable homes, up 10 thousand homes in the last 12 months. Its fiber penetration is 24.8%, up from 22.6% in the last year.
SureWest stated that it is now facing competition from cable provider Comcast's cable telephony service. Comcast is offering a triple play bundle that includes voice, video, and data services for $99 per month. Comcast's service only started in June, so SureWest has not felt its full effect as yet.
SureWest offers 310 IPTV channels, including 23 HDTV channels.
SureWest is continuing to progress well. It has establish a strong competitive position against both ATT and Comcast. It should continue to to well in the face of Comcast's new cable telephony service. SureWest may be forced to adjust its prices to meet the new competition, but with the right price its growth should continue.
SureWest stated that it is now facing competition from cable provider Comcast's cable telephony service. Comcast is offering a triple play bundle that includes voice, video, and data services for $99 per month. Comcast's service only started in June, so SureWest has not felt its full effect as yet.
SureWest offers 310 IPTV channels, including 23 HDTV channels.
SureWest is continuing to progress well. It has establish a strong competitive position against both ATT and Comcast. It should continue to to well in the face of Comcast's new cable telephony service. SureWest may be forced to adjust its prices to meet the new competition, but with the right price its growth should continue.
Friday, June 15, 2007
ATT Micro Marketing for IPTV
ATT is using ice cream trucks to sell its IPTV service in Connecticut. The truck goes to Little League fields, train stations and suburban cul-de-sacs. With music playing, the truck stops and a door opens on the side to reveal a flat-screen TV showing programming from U-verse, ATT's IPTV service. It is like a magnet, people come running when the music from the ice cream truck is played.
ATT is using a variety of small-time selling strategies, such as wine-and-cheese parties, movie nights in local theaters along with the ice cream truck to sell its IPTV service one neighborhood at a time.
AT&T's U-verse service is not available in entire communities much less than the entire state. The company has to find ways to target the people that can actually buy the service. To demonstrate the differences among U-verse service and cable or satellite TV, ATT has to show it to people. Many of the selling points are based on features, from the on-screen menu to the speed of channel changes.
SureWest in the Sacramento California area has used a similar retail marketing approach. When it introduces its FTTH IPTV service into a new neighborhood, it cruises the neighborhood with a big sign on a trailer that it calls its "land blimp". It then blankets the neighborhood with door to door sales people. This approach has been successful. Surewest has consistently had about a 25 percent market share in the areas where it offers its fiber service.
This marketing approach shows what ATT is facing with its highly fragmented U-verse IPTV introduction. The coverage is not sufficient to support mass marketing techniques even on a local basis.
ATT is using a variety of small-time selling strategies, such as wine-and-cheese parties, movie nights in local theaters along with the ice cream truck to sell its IPTV service one neighborhood at a time.
AT&T's U-verse service is not available in entire communities much less than the entire state. The company has to find ways to target the people that can actually buy the service. To demonstrate the differences among U-verse service and cable or satellite TV, ATT has to show it to people. Many of the selling points are based on features, from the on-screen menu to the speed of channel changes.
SureWest in the Sacramento California area has used a similar retail marketing approach. When it introduces its FTTH IPTV service into a new neighborhood, it cruises the neighborhood with a big sign on a trailer that it calls its "land blimp". It then blankets the neighborhood with door to door sales people. This approach has been successful. Surewest has consistently had about a 25 percent market share in the areas where it offers its fiber service.
This marketing approach shows what ATT is facing with its highly fragmented U-verse IPTV introduction. The coverage is not sufficient to support mass marketing techniques even on a local basis.
Monday, May 14, 2007
SureWest IPTV Up 20%
SureWest is both an incumbent carrier and a fiber based competitive carrier in the Sacramento California area. It now has 20,445 IPTV subscribers at the end of March, up 3,379 or 20% in the last twelve months. It offers a total of 305 broadcast channels, including 19 HDTV channels. The company has a total of 146 thousand access lines.
SureWest has the largest IPTV subscriber base among the small U.S. Telcos. It is continuing to do well with its IPTV service competing against Comcast.
SureWest has the largest IPTV subscriber base among the small U.S. Telcos. It is continuing to do well with its IPTV service competing against Comcast.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
SureWest Grows to 19,657 IPT Subscribers
SureWest is a telephone company that is both an incumbent and a competitive carrier in areas around Sacramento, California. It currently has 146 thousand access lines, which makes it one of the largest U.S. independent telephone companies.
It has been a leading IPTV company in the U.S. based on a service that is offered over ADSL in its incumbent areas and over FTTH services where it offers competitive services. Its IPTV subscribers grew from 19,657 at the end of 2006 compared to 16,138 at the end of 2005.
SureWest has a FTTH service in Elk Grove, a suburb of Sacramento where it competes with ATT for telephone services and Comcast for TV services. The number of homes passed by its fiber service increased to 98,900 at the end of 2006 compared to 88,764 at the end of 2005. The penetration of its FTTH service was at 23.5 percent at the end of 2006 compared to 22.3 percent at the end of 2005.
The details of SureWest's 2006 results can be found at
http://www.surw.com/media_relations/press/releases/ShowPR.php?Head_ID=208
Click on the Metrics link to get the subscriber counts cited in this post.
SureWest is a bellwether for U.S. carriers. Its success against Comcast is probably more interesting from an IPTV perspective than its success against ATT. It shows that ATT and Verizon can achieve a 25 market penetration of their IPTV services. They will both be quite happy if they match SureWest's success. Verizon is well on its way but ATT has not gotten out of the blocks yet.
It has been a leading IPTV company in the U.S. based on a service that is offered over ADSL in its incumbent areas and over FTTH services where it offers competitive services. Its IPTV subscribers grew from 19,657 at the end of 2006 compared to 16,138 at the end of 2005.
SureWest has a FTTH service in Elk Grove, a suburb of Sacramento where it competes with ATT for telephone services and Comcast for TV services. The number of homes passed by its fiber service increased to 98,900 at the end of 2006 compared to 88,764 at the end of 2005. The penetration of its FTTH service was at 23.5 percent at the end of 2006 compared to 22.3 percent at the end of 2005.
The details of SureWest's 2006 results can be found at
http://www.surw.com/media_relations/press/releases/ShowPR.php?Head_ID=208
Click on the Metrics link to get the subscriber counts cited in this post.
SureWest is a bellwether for U.S. carriers. Its success against Comcast is probably more interesting from an IPTV perspective than its success against ATT. It shows that ATT and Verizon can achieve a 25 market penetration of their IPTV services. They will both be quite happy if they match SureWest's success. Verizon is well on its way but ATT has not gotten out of the blocks yet.
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