Quadruple play and service bundling will not work for all service providers

Visiongain : While service providers are hoping to build on their success with two-play by deploying triple and quadruple play packages, this approach will not work for all providers.

For instance, almost half of all North American households subscribed to some type of bundled service in 2005. Two-play services accounted for 40% of all households, while those subscribing to triple play accounted for only 9.5% and a mere 0.4% of all households subscribed to quadruple play services. However, competitive pressures will accelerate the uptake of triple and quadruple play from 2008 onwards.

This contrasts sharply with visiongain’s estimates of triple and quadruple play uptake in developing markets. In the Middle East and Africa, for example, only 0.3 million households will be subscribing to triple play by 2009, and only 0.1 million to quadruple play. This compares to over 96 million households that will still be without a service bundle. Service providers are increasingly looking at bundling as a means of reducing churn and increasing revenue. However, these service providers also face significant hurdles along the way.

Bundles that include IPTV are not suited to all markets and service providers should focus on adding value to their existing services before embarking on significant expenses that may not yield the expected financial rewards.. Quadruple play and service bundling strategies: 2006-2011 Publ 20060727