United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2004-02-04 monographic deposited born digital 43 p. GA 1.13:GAO-04-241 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-241 P0b002ee1803847d1 f:d04241 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-241 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-241 GAO-04-241 Cable television Competition Rates Telecommunication industry Strategic planning Telephone Internet service providers Cost analysis Broadband services Other Written Product A09191 One of the primary purposes of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was to promote competition in telecommunication markets, but wire-based competition has not developed as fully as expected. However, a new kind of entrant, called broadband service providers (BSP), offers an alternative wire- based option for local telephone, subscription television, and high- speed Internet services to consumers in the markets they have chosen to enter. This report provides information on (1) BSPs' business strategy, (2) the impact of BSPs' market entry on incumbent companies' behavior and consumer prices for telecommunications services, (3) the key factors that BSPs consider when making decisions about which local markets to enter, and (4) the success of BSPs in attaining subscribership and any key factors that may limit their success. We developed a case-study approach to compare 6 cities where a BSP has been operating for at least 1 year with 6 similar cities that do not have such a competitor. The 6 markets with a BSP presently account for more than 20 percent of the households nationwide that are in areas where BSPs currently offer the three-service package, but the results of these case studies are not generalizable to all markets. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-241/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-241.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-241/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-241.pdf GAO-04-241 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-241 Other Written Product GAO-04-241; Telecommunications: Wire-Based Competition Benefited Consumers In Selected Markets; Cable television Competition Rates Telecommunication industry Strategic planning Telephone Internet service providers Cost analysis Broadband services