The broadband skills shortage: The worsening crisis

These days, though the wait has reduced considerably, the long delays for cable and DSL installations are still far from acceptable in what is supposed to be an instantaneous electronic commerce age. Despite slow installation, cable modem usage is soaring, and analysts keep upgrading their growth projections. At the end of 1999, high-speed Internet subscribers stood at 1.9 million. The Yankee Group initially predicted this would surge to 3.3 million by 2000 and 16.6 million by 2004. By summer, the market researchers revised these numbers upward to 3.9 million and 18 million. Now Yankee group analysts say that they are looking for more like 4.2 million and 20 million. Simply put, there are not enough people within the service provider organizations to handle the installations, and it is unclear that the situation will improve anytime soon.