Optical Entertainment Network, the Houston-based company delivering triple-play services over a fiber-to-the-home network in several Texas communities, announced last week that it will offer a symmetrical 20 Mb/s service for an introductory price of $99.98. The new service is targeted at serious gamers and at telecommuters and other small office/home office operations.

The company, which already offers symmetrical services at 10 Mb/s and 5 Mb/s, decided to add the new offering after its customer research showed there is demand out there, said Albert Estrada, president and CEO of OEN.

“Our target is online gamers who gave us feedback that they really wanted this service,” he said. “The numbers blew us out of the water.”

When OEN asked customers who already subscribe to the symmetrical 10 Mb/s service if they would pay an additional $99.98 for a 20 Mb/s service, it expected about 1% to say they were interested in ordering immediately or very interested. Instead, Estrada said, between 5% and 6% chose one of those options.

The company also found that about three out of 10 of those wanting to use the service are working from home and find it much easier to download large files, which don't do as well on asymmetric cable or DSL services.

“For some of them, the only reason to go into an office was to download large files: doctors, folks that use [computer-aided design] drawings, etc.” Estrada said. “It's more the uploading side where they see value.”

As user-generated content grows more popular, there is a larger group of customers paying more attention to upstream bandwidth, he added, and that is only likely to grow as the cost of high-definition (HD) cameras comes down. It has been predicted that those cameras, which have cost in the thousands, will soon be in the hundreds.

OEN launched its Fision service earlier this year to four subdivisions in the northwestern part of Houston and currently passes about 5000 homes. It will triple that number before year's end. The company offers 85 networks, 40 HD channels and niche programming as well.

OEN isn't releasing customer numbers, but Estrada said penetration rates are running between 18% and 32%. The higher numbers occur in neighborhoods that are relatively affluent, with average incomes between $75,000 to $150,000 and is also somewhat younger and more family-oriented. The lower penetration numbers are in communities where the average income is higher, and the population probably “skews a little older,” he said.

FISION PACKAGING

PLATINUM PACK $119.98
262 video channels
Video-on-demand
Up to 10 Mb/s symmetric Internet access
Unlimited VoIP with advanced features
Add 20-20 data service for $80

SUPER PLATINUM PACK $144.98
292 video channels
Video-on-demand
Up to 10 Mb/s symmetric Internet access
Unlimited VoIP with advanced features
Choice of one of three multichannel premium services
Add 20-20 data service for $70

LUXURY PREMIUM PACK $169.98
330 video channels
Video-on-demand
Up to 10 Mb/s symmetric Internet access
Unlimited VoIP with advanced features
All three multichannel premium services
Add 20-20 data service for $60

Source: OEN