Providers' customer support and service is notoriously bad, and it's time they deliver the help users deserve AS OF JUNE 2001, nearly 10 million Americans subscribed to broadband services, according to the Federal Communications Commission’s most recent statistics. This demand from corporate and consumer users seems to be overwhelming broadband providers. Why else is customer service and support so notoriously rotten? Despite — or maybe because of — routine complaints about bad service, customer relationships remain a top priority, at least for the customer. In the 2002 InfoWorld Broadband Survey, 91 percent of respondents report that service and support are highly important when choosing a broadband solution, second only to reliability. The major reasons for dissatisfaction lie not so much in the service itself but rather with disappointing customer support. Although occasional service interruptions happen, they tend to be limited and normally don’t rile customers. Much more pervasive is poor assistance when launching the service or attempting to solve random problems, such as inconsistent functionality, sluggish networks, and even worse complications as described in postings on https://www.dslreports.com and other consumer complaint Web sites. But it’s fair to say that hiccups often are caused by user error, such as incorrectly configured software. No help for the needy? The root of the problem is that using broadband is not as easy and reliable as the POTS (plain old telephone system). And the users who are driving new broadband adoption are the ones who most need good tech support: telecommuters and regional office employees far from their company’s IT staff. According to the Broadband Survey, 39 percent of IT leaders currently deploy broadband for telecommuters, and 60 percent expect to do so within the next year. But many broadband providers don’t seem prepared to absorb this rising wave of corporate customers, especially considering that they don’t give users a single, permanent IP address. Ideally, each computer connected to the Internet would have a unique identifier, making authentication and security a lot easier, for instance, when connecting to a corporate network via VPN. Right now, a basic broadband connection generally includes a dynamic IP address. If providers offer a permanent IP address, they charge a much higher monthly fee for it. As unlikely as it is that profit-starved carriers will allocate more funds to improve their technical support, they must find a way to keep customers satisfied. Most providers show serious flaws in this area, particularly DSL vendors, which operate with three uncoordinated divisions: one connecting the wires, one managing the network, and one providing the Internet connection. When processing a DSL order, the telco can’t tell whether the service is available unless a telephone line is already installed, and even if it is, it can take weeks, even months, to get a definite answer. This practice may imperil future business; 52 percent of survey respondents state that speedy installation is highly important. To be fair, DSL providers have a good technical reason to be cautious about new installations: If the signal drops too low, high-speed connectivity cannot be guaranteed. Customer service from other types of providers isn’t in much better shape. To make the best of limited bandwidth, cable and satellite providers resort to proxy gimmicks, channeling users’ access via software that shares a single connection across multiple subscribers. Using proxies, providers can optimize bandwidth usage and, using caching, can even speed up Web browsing. But proxies add another layer of complexity, making the service more difficult to use and potentially impairing security solutions such as VPNs and firewalls. Making room for improvement There is hope yet that providers will improve their service. The FCC is motivated to monitor the development of broadband and will probably, sooner or later, focus on quality of service, which will push broadband providers to clarify the terms of their service. Until then, the FCC offers an online form to file complaints at https://www.fcc.gov . If your provider won’t listen to you, it will certainly listen to the FCC. Customers face a variety of challenges when deploying broadband connectivity. To overcome them, many IT leaders will have to compensate for shoddy support with internal resources. This additional cost will become a discriminating factor when CTOs are selecting broadband providers. In the long run, that should weed out the worst tech-support offenders and teach the rest the importance of good customer service. Broadband connections to remote users are increasingly important and expensive and deserve adequate attention from providers. But the service by nature allows providers to confuse business users with consumer users, which is a big mistake. The boundaries of the enterprise are extending beyond the company premises, and broadband providers need to reflect that change in their support policies. Return to our Test Center Research Report: Broadband Technology Industry