Customer support has become a necessary evil for the broadband industry. Broadband service providers are obliged to provide their customers with commercial and technical support. Indeed, other than price, the lack of good customer support is the main reason for customer churn, and so it is in the service providers’ interest to provide customer support in a quality manner. Good customer support is costly – in terms of opex it is one of the biggest drains on a service provider’s business.

However, as the connected home becomes a more complicated place, is there a chance for the service provider to turn the investment it has ploughed into broadband customer support to its advantage? Consumers may be seeing value in the service provider providing support beyond the basic broadband access – so much so they may pay a premium for such a service. In a world where true new revenue streams are hard to come by, this might be a golden opportunity for the broadband service provider.

Table of contents

Ovum view

From humble beginnings – the basic support service

The next step: remote access support

Where to draw the line?

Third step: advanced broadband support

Service provider vs PC retailer

BT’s experience to date

Go alone or partnership?