Cable Modem Market To Grow

Increased demand for greater bandwidth to accommodate multimedia data transfers, is fueling residential interest in cable modems, according to a new report by Pioneer Consulting.

The report, entitled "Global Broadband Access Markets: xDSL, Cable Modems and the Threat from Broadband Satellite, Wireless and All-Optical Solutions" and covering between 1998-2007, says the residential global cable modem market will increase from 1998 year-end totals of 560,000 subscribers to over 1.5 million in 1999.

After that point, says the report, the market will enter a "period of rapid expansion in consumer usage," and, by 2007, will have reached a total of 45.43 million users, which will translate into a basic services market of $16.4 billion.

That said, however, the business market for cable modem services will continue to be "quite limited" says Pioneer. A "poor or non-existent relationship" with cable operators and a "perception of substandard service quality," account for the disparity.

The company adds that cable modem service to business "will fare best for residential remote access applications and home office applications."