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    An interesting article on broadband take up

    DSL broadband blastoff

    By Chris Jenkins
    Tuesday, 15 October 2002

    Communications equipment distributors have reported a surge in DSL modem sales in the past three months, flagging an ongoing boom in broadband take-up.

    Networking vendor D-Link claims its DSL modem sales have nearly doubled to 13,000 units in the past month, while its competitor Netcomm says sales are up four-fold since June.

    D-Link said its DSL modem shipments had grown by 5,000 units, reaching 12,000 to 13,000 in the past month. The company expects a further jump to 16,000 or 17,000 units per month by the end of the year if it is able to nail ISP supply deals it has on the boil.

    D-Link marketing manager Maurice Famularo said the boost in shipments had come through sales to ISPs. The sales are negotiated by D-Link, he said, but fulfilled through ISP channel partners. USB and Ethernet modems were the most popular products, he said, with IP routers gaining in popularity.

    Famularo said in the debate over whether pricing or content will drive broadband take-up, “price is still the more sensitive issue”.

    Netcomm managing director David Stewart, meanwhile, said DSL modem sales had quadrupled since June, although he concedes this is off a fairly low base.

    “It’s like turning a light on,” he said.

    Stewart said Netcomm said there is “no one answer” as to why sales have spiked, but suggested smaller ISPs were showing a lot more activity.

    “Guys that were only doing 10 installations per month are now doing 40 or 50 and more,” Stewart said.

    He said sales are coming across all channels, including retailers like Harvey Norman and Harris Technologies, distribution partners like TechPac and Ingram and direct to ISPs.

    Distributor Quadtel is also claiming a jump in DSL modem sales in October. A spokesperson for the company said the average of 1,500 units per month sold across July, August and September had almost been exceeded already in October.

    In September, Quadtel signed a deal worth an estimated $3 million to supply Alcatel DSL modems to nascent DSL service provider iHug.


 
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