New Research Points Way to European Broadband Profitability / U.S. Study Underlines the High Cost of Low Rated Customer Service

London 13. 10. 2003 (PROTEXT/ots) - Americans continue toditch dial-up for high-speed Internet access but the States'service providers are racing to provide the customer servicequality required to keep pace with subscriber demand, accordingto a newly released study of over 550 U.S. residential broadbandsubscribers.

Sponsored by SupportSoft, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPRT) and conductedby Zanthus Research, an independent market research firm, thestudy reveals that nearly 7 in 10 broadband subscribers havecalled for technical support during the past 12 months, and 40%surveyed called more than once. With worldwide cable modem salesexpected to double by 2007(1) and DSL subscriber bases forecastto grow from 11- 200% by country yearly(2) outside the U.S.,European service providers are taking notice of what they canexpect ahead, as broadband consumer adoption accelerates.

Europe service providers stand to gain by studying thebusiness economics experienced by their U.S. peers. For example,a typical broadband service provider in the States serving 1.8million subscribers would have had phone conversations with 1.2million of them during 2002 at the average cost of US$13 percall -- resulting in more than US$15 million in service costs tothe provider annually. However, the typical broadband customeris calling more often than that -- an average of 1.9 times ayear. With 18% of customers calling twice and 21% calling threetimes, the cost for phone support to the service provider canskyrocket to nearly US$25 million, annually.

Escalating these costs further, when a phone call doesn'tsolve the problem, dispatching a service truck to a customer'sresidence can add an average cost of US$150 per truck roll. Thishelps explain why technical support has become a prime targetfor automation among high-speed data providers as a way to cutcosts.

"Broadband service providers are under intense pressure tocut operational costs. Reducing their customer support burden isan important way to realize immediate and long-term savings,"said David Hawley, senior analyst for the Yankee Group."Operational costs are only one half of the equation, though.Providing consistent, high-quality customer service is key tobuilding customer loyalty and lasting competitivedifferentiation. The trick is to strike the balance betweenefficient and effective customer service that meets corporatestrategy."

Additional findings from this first annual high speedInternet support quality benchmark survey, which examines thequality of customer service experienced by broadbandsubscribers, include:

-- Cable subscribers are more satisfied with the quality ofsupport they receive than their DSL counterparts. Twenty percentof all DSL subscribers report being dissatisfied, compared to14% of cable customers.

-- Just 5 problems account for the majority of both phonecalls and online support searches: no Internet access, inabilityto send/receive email, password problems, slow connections andrepeatedly dropped connections.

-- Over 68% of broadband subscribers seek technical supportby phone but 48% say they would prefer to use online chat, emailor the provider's online support portal. "Broadband service providers in both the U.S. and Europe arerapidly adapting to the support needs of their subscribers withnew tools and techniques, including self-service options thatprovide people with more control and choice in fixing their ownproblems," said Bruce Mowery, vice president of marketing forSupportSoft. "Industry leaders recognize that creating a greatcustomer experience is a universal need no matter what countryyou may live in. Service automation is helping drive increasedsubscriber loyalty and adoption of add-on services worldwide, aswell as assisting high speed data providers gain businessadvantage through reduced operational costs." SupportSoft is a leading provider of service automationsoftware for broadband providers in the U.S., counting 7 of thetop 9 high-speed data providers among its customers, whichrepresents 75% of the North American broadband subscribermarket. Additionally, European broadband leaders, includingBelgacom, TeliaSonera and UPC Chello, also use SupportSoftsolutions in multiple languages. For more information about SupportSoft, visitwww.supportsoft.com or call UK -- +44 (1) 895-876455. About SupportSoft SupportSoft (NASDAQ: SPRT) is a leading provider of serviceand support automation and endpoint management software forcorporate enterprises and broadband service providers worldwide.SupportSoft's patented software platform allows businesses toautomate and personalize the support they provide to theircustomers, partners and employees, helping them reduce costs,increase revenues and drive user satisfaction. Global 2000companies using SupportSoft's comprehensive family of softwaresolutions include enterprises like Procter & Gamble, Clorox, GE,Cisco Systems, Bank of America, NEC, BT and Schlumberger,broadband providers like Comcast, BellSouth and CoxCommunications, OEMs and System Integrators like IBM, Sony,Siebel Systems and CSC. SupportSoft has offices and customerslocated throughout the world. This press release contains forward-looking statements,including statements relating to expected growth in DSLsubscribers and cable modem sales, adoption of new tools andtechniques and the resulting expected improved profitability ofservice providers. These forward- looking statements are subjectto a number of risks and uncertainties, including but notlimited to the technical challenges for service providers usingthese new tools and techniques, if from SupportSoft, the rapidpace of technological change, the impact of internationalconflict and continued economic downturns in either domestic orforeign markets, and the resulting changes in the amount oftechnology spending by customers and other risks which are morefully set forth in the risks factors detailed from time to timein our SEC reports. Statements included in this release are basedupon information known to SupportSoft as of the date of thisrelease, and SupportSoft assumes no obligation to updateinformation contained in this press release. (1) Source, InStat/MDR (2) Source, DSLForum ots Original Text Service: SupportSoft, Inc. Internet:http://www.presseportal.de

Media Contacts: Joi Deaser SupportSoft, Inc. US - 650.556-8930 joi@supportsoft.com

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