Oh well didn’t we already know that. After all we did a whole story on this in Red Herring magazine. Surprised that research agenices which are paid mucho dollars to make these predictions before rest of the junta, are slow on the uptake here.

Anyway the new report by NJ-based Probe Research suggests that the move to broadband among the consumer/SOHO market has been slower than expected. After one year into the widespread availability of cable modem and ADSL service, there has been no mass exodus of narrowband access users to broadband connectivity.

Alan Mosher, Senior Research Director, explains the factors contributing to the situation. “Broadband Internet service is priced at two to four times the monthly rate for narrowband Internet service. This combined with the lack of a killer broadband application has had a dampening effect on broadband uptake, especially in light of the current economic condition.”

The primary selling point used by broadband purveyors to attract new customers has been faster download speeds. While this is an important issue for SOHO users and remote workers who transfer files from one location to another or spend a great deal of time online in the course of their jobs, for most this is not enough of a reason to trade up.

Mosher maintains that the leading ISPs are currently able to keep a firm grasp on their customers through familiar features in their services such as e-mail address, instant messaging service and content. “Without more compelling consumer-oriented content, movement to broadband will be slow as long as the price of connectivity remains high.”

But if you want the complete analysis of the broadband mess, you can of course visit RedHerring.com