Broadband Service Providers Look to Automation to Reduce Costs and Ensure Customer Loyalty, Reports Yankee Group.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 8, 2002

European consumer and business broadband adoption is increasing. A new Yankee Group report, "Beyond Self-Install: Can Online Customer Care Drive Broadband Loyalty," identifies price as the reason for this rapid take-up of broadband access. Now, while demand rises as prices go lower, operators must find ways to reduce their own costs and cope with unprecedented provisioning requirements.

According to Jonathan Doran, Yankee Group Convergent Communications Europe senior analyst and report author, "Self-install kits have become the preferred means for pre-qualifying and activating new broadband subscribers, accounting for between 85 percent and 95 percent of activations in Europe's leading markets. The substantial savings on truck rolls and call center loads associated with self-install have been instrumental in enabling the price reductions necessary to drive mass market adoption. The savings also help operators manage the ballooning costs of adding tens of thousands of new customers each month."

But pre-qualification and activation are only the start of the broadband customer lifecycle, according to Doran. "In order to develop a lasting and lucrative relationship", he says, "service providers must actively implement a coordinated strategy for intelligent service delivery". The report identifies the main drivers and constraints to broadband operators' pursuit of an ongoing automated customer care strategy. It highlights the benefits of fast provisioning, increased scalability and greater customer satisfaction that automation brings to a BSP's business.

NOTE TO EDITORS

For interviews, please contact Jonathan Doran at [e-mail].

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