Where the rubber hits the road it seems DSL has more problems than cable. Another factor working against DSL is the complication that's added by the presence of competitive carriers in the local loop, who still must rely on the local incumbent for access to the central office and to provision their last-mile connection. Competitive cable access so far is more theory with no mandate. At this early stage in the game, there appears to be no clear winner in the bundling game, considered by many as vital to retaining customers. McCormick sees each technology as incomplete in bundling.
Cable provides video and data, but cable telephony only in limited areas.
Similarly, DSL offers telephony and data, but few operators include any kind of video component. Telcos traditionally do market value-added services, but for Harris the question lies in video. Still, video may prove the deciding factor. Tie Although cost per bit rate varies wildly, prices generally have declined for both services over the past year. Although DSL prices kept dropping this spring as competition heated up, relatively few offerings yet match the benchmark, Harris says.