May 27, 2023

Sector Portrait

Telecommunications: Whatever, Wherever - and Fast

Florida's telecommunications providers are scrambling to meet demand.

» No Wires, Please

Terremark
Terremark's Network Access Point for the Americas in Miami. Terremark operates 13 data centers in the U.S., Europe and Latin America.

On the demand side, Floridians want the ability to tap into apps from a coffee shop or stream audio and video at home. They want to download music and movies and share photos and video via the web with family and friends. They want it all fast and they want it wireless — since 2001, the number of residential and business land line customers in Florida has fallen by half, while the count of wireless customers has more than doubled; broadband customers are up by 1,750%.

Florida's Tele-Customers
? 2001 Projected 2011
Wireless (cell phone) 8.9 M 18.1 M
Broadband (internet) 600,000 10.5 M
Land line (residential, business) 11.9 M 5.8 M
Source: AT&T

Increasingly, consumers also want everything — phone, television and internet — in one package. Many of Florida's telecommunications companies, from Comcast to Bright House to Verizon, now offer "bundled services" that package high-speed internet, cable, wireless and home phone in one monthly bill. Verizon says 90% of its residential customers in Florida subscribe to a package that involves two or more services, either over its own fiber network or partnering with DirectTV in some counties.

2014 year when the data market, nationally, is expected to overtake the voice market and account for 51% of overall wireless service spending.

1.5 billion number of text messages sent nationally in 2009.

23% Percentage of adults in Florida who live in wireless-only homes as of June 2010, up from 15.2% in 2007. Nationally, about 25% of U.S. households are wireless only, up from 10.5% in 2006.

7.5 million Number of land lines in Florida in 2009, a 38% drop from 2001. The number of residential lines dropped 51%, while business lines fell 11%, from 3.7 million to 3.3 million. At that rate, land lines will have dropped 50% from 2001-11.

70 Number of broadband providers in Florida

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