Cable companies, now equipped with high- speed Internet and telephone service, are more aggressively marketing to small- and medium- sized businesses.
The move is the latest in the competitive battle with traditional telecommunications companies for customers.
In Colorado, Comcast has offered high- speed Internet and accompanying information technology services, such as Web hosting, to small- and medium-sized businesses for a couple of years.
“The investment Comcast has made in the network has allowed us to provide additional advanced services in the commercial business space as well as for residents,” spokeswoman Cindy Parsons said of the more than $600 million Comcast has poured into the state since it entered the market in 2002.
While its Digital Voice service is available to a majority of its 700,000 residential subscribers in the state, a business-based offering won’t be available until next year, Parsons said.
Analysts said it’s typical for a company to wait 12 to 24 months after releasing a residential product before rolling it out to higher- paying business customers.
“It’s just a matter of time. Comcast wants to ensure it can give residential customers a good experience,” said Craig Moffett, vice president and senior analyst for Sanford C. Bernstein. “Cox has done it with great success. Cablevision has some success; Charter as well.”
For the small- to medium-sized businesses, another competitor to Qwest helps lower IT costs. Denver-based Colorado Hardscapes, a decorative concrete contractor, switched from Qwest services two years ago and has lowered its IT expenditures by 65 percent, according to Pete Wilson, general manager for sales and marketing.
The company employs 140 and gets high-speed Internet and other IT infrastructure services – such as electronic faxing – from Comcast.
“Comcast bundled enough services at the right price, plus they were able to display a five-year plan of what they’re doing for small businesses,” he said. “It has helped us manage our growth. Now we can be more efficient with our internal resources.”
The number of Qwest voice “access lines” to businesses dropped 2 percent from 2004 to 2005. But despite new cable company initiatives, Qwest is holding its own when it comes to high-speed data. The number of data lines to businesses rose 7 percent from 2004 to 2005, according to the company’s annual report.
“Qwest is better than Comcast because we offer more value and a more robust bundle of services for today’s businesses,” said Qwest spokesman Michael Dunne.
Cable’s desire for business customers is not confined to the United States.
Douglas County-based Liberty Global Inc. is looking at offering cable and broadband services to its business markets abroad. Liberty Global is the largest owner of cable- television systems outside the U.S.
“Business-to-business services is one of the things we’ve just woken up to,” said Liberty Global chief executive Michael Fries during a cable engineers conference in Denver last month. “We have the revenue to look at it where we create a capitalistic approach and market cautiously.”
Fries described some business customers as “low-hanging fruit,” because often their offices are in homes or in areas located in or near residential cable lines.
Staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson can be reached at 303-820-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com.
