Consumers who have an in-home broadband connection are more willing to purchase remote monitoring and control professionally monitored interactive security services, research firm Strategy Analytics said.
In its recent Smart Home Strategies (SHS) advisory service report, Strategy Analytics said that 50 percent of those surveyed whose homes have a broadband connection will buy security and monitoring services.
The analyst firm said consumers in three countries--the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Italy--have had the most interest in purchasing smart home services, while France has had less interest.
"The percentage of broadband households with both the interest in and willingness to pay for selected connected home solutions is higher than expected," stated Bill Ablondi, Director, Smart Home Strategies advisory service.
The reason, adds Ablondi, is the advent of smart phones and tablets, which offer simple to use interfaces to quickly access multiple applications with a simple tap on a screen.
"We believe that growing smartphone and tablet use is accelerating consumers' desire to be connected to everyone and everything important in their lives, including their family and homes," he said.
However, adoption hinges on the price point. In Italy, for example, consumers are more likely to use remote healthcare if it's priced under $10 a month.
Although consumers can purchase security and home monitoring services from traditional providers like ADT, increasingly these services are being offered by telcos and cable operators, including AT&T (NYSE: T), Verizon (NYSE: VZ), Frontier (Nasdaq: FTR), Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA), and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC).
What's driving service providers to deliver home automation services is that they are looking for new sources of revenue as the broadband markets become more saturated. One possible advantage is that service providers can leverage their respective brand recognition with customers to offer special offers on these services, related equipment and support.
For more:
- see the release
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