excerpted from Business 2.0, 9/6/05

The telecom industry's long-awaited turnaround may be under way. For the first time since the bust of 2000, companies are taking risks and making investments, broadband prices are beginning to stabilize, and demand for high-bandwidth data services is starting to rise. Some indicators: In July 2005, AT&T announced that its data-related sales had declined 10.2%, a significant improvement over the past few quarters, when declines of 30% were commonplace. Another major bandwidth wholesaler, Level 3, revealed that data sales in the second quarter were $122 million, up $3 million from the previous quarter -- the first gain in six months. WilTel, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2002, reported for the first half of 2005 sales of $850 million, up from $776 million in the same period a year ago. OnFiber Communications just announced that it will take on AT&T and MCI in the San Francisco Bay Area with a broadband service that's cheaper and uses newer technologies. Also, a consortium of major carriers is negotiating for a multiyear agreement that would provide a terabit of broadband capacity across the Atlantic, reports research firm Telegeography. Relief is also coming from businesses that did not exist five years ago, such as online music, movie download services, and Internet protocol television. (Business 2.0, 9/6/05)  

excerpted from eMarketer Daily, 9/6/05

Many "high-tech households" want to incorporate more services into one bill (e.g., wireless data, video-on-demand, Internet-based telephony/VoIP, satellite radio, broadband, DVR, etc.), according to a study by Telephia. These households pointed to a number of advantages that come with bundling: having one bill (71%); receiving discounts compared to subscribing to services individually (54%); and being able to contact one customer service representative for problems with multiple services (40%). A TV-Internet combination is the most popular bundled service (31%), followed by a landline and Internet service bundle (25%). These are being considered by another 20% of respondents. Far fewer people are currently signed up for quadruple play packages of TV, Internet, landline and wireless services (4%), but interest in this option is at almost 20% of respondents. (eMarketer Daily, 9/6/05)