Almost 80% of broadband users would like a new service that guarantees a minimum bandwidth performance level, and 68% of those users would be willing to pay a premium for that service, according to a new survey distributed to members of Broadband4Britain and commissioned by net.com. The survey found that it is primarily value-added applications like multimedia (video, audio), Internet telephony, gaming and remote/teleworking that are driving the demand for QoS. More specifically, of the 21% who indicated that they would be willing to pay 20% over their current fees, primary interests were secure links (92%), Internet telephony (92%), video streaming (42%), and video conferencing (33%).
Additional data collected from the survey respondents shows:
- 17% are interested in a lower basic connectivity rate, paying for "turbo Internet" with QoS guarantees when they need it.
Of the 79% who were willing to pay for improved QoS, 21% would be willing to pay a 20% premium for performance guarantees, and 47% would be happy to pay 5% more than their current connectivity fees.
32% would like metered pricing for QoS, paying for the bandwidth they use on a per minute basis, whereas 58% would like to pay for the QoS guarantees as part of their monthly subscription.
Approximately 6000 members of Broadband4Britain were surveyed, yielding more than a 2% response in the first three days following distribution of the survey. Broadband4Britain is an independent initiative aimed at getting "Britain's broadband wagon rolling again."
