As broadband Internet use grows in the United States, it's increasing at a similar rate north of the border but with a ceiling. A new study by the Yankee Group predicts that there will be 7 million
broadband Internet subscribers in Canada by 2006. The report, "Canadian Residential Broadband Providers Struggle to Differentiate," notes that early high-speed adoption has yielded to mass-market
success. Subscriber growth will slow at some point as the addressable market approaches maturity, the report says. "Provider strategy must shift in focus from customer acquisition to customer
retention and revenue growth," says Mark Quigley, director of the Yankee Group's Canadian research and consulting. "The market already has taken some positive steps, as most services have increased in
price during the past 12 months. However, it is troublesome that price appears to remain the key differentiator. Broadband providers continue to struggle to differentiate themselves in a market that
has been moved by price, and price alone."
