Newsletter
Google Left Banner
Cinergy MetroNet Launches TV Caller ID
11 Sep, 2008
Cinergy MetroNet, an Indiana based FTTH triple play provider, has launched TV Caller ID and other converged applications, including call logs and a networked address book. Cinergy includes the service, marketed as Caller ID on TV, as a free value add for its triple play customers and for $2.95/month for non-triple play customers. Cinergy MetroNet uses the Integra5 Converged Services platform.
digg this story
googleQwest IPTV Service Met With Skepticism in its Own Backyard
22 May, 2007Qwest’s bid for a cable TV franchise in Broomfield, CO, a suburb of Denver, was met with much skepticism by the city council. Issues including poor past performance by Qwest and inadequate build out requirements were raised. What was also interesting is skepticism of IPTV technology, with one councilman saying it’s not ready for prime time yet. Comcast was present at this meeting, but didn’t speak. Apparently they didn’t have to.
Check out this Rocky Mountain News article for the details.
Houston Becoming Epicenter for Triple Play Competition
17 Apr, 2007With two IPTV providers, including AT&T’s U-verse TV and Optical Entertainment Network’s Fision service, Comcast, and the usual DBS suspects, Houston is a great laboratory for triple play competition. Competitive tactics include increases in HD channel availability, higher Internet bandwidth speeds, and a whopping 400 channel offering by Fision.
Cable 360 Net offers more insight into these competitive implications.
I Like My DSL Naked, Thank You
24 Mar, 2007What was once frowned upon and kept quiet, is now rising to the forefront. AT&T is actively marketing naked DSL, which allows a subscriber to get DSL service without an underlying voice line, in the Detroit market. AT&T is bundling naked DSL with Cingular wireless service in an attempt to appeal to customers who have cut their landline voice. While this is a somewhat remarkable story for a company that has a voice landline legacy, it is really of no surprise. AT&T realizes that a growing population of consumers no longer needs or values landline voice service. This exposed example is one of many to come for most legacy voice carriers.
Get more insight from this Detroit News article.
Should Cable Give In and Embrace IPTV?
22 Mar, 2007There are all kinds of predictions surrounding IPTV, including it’s the future of television as we know it. Proponents argue that the power of IPTV, which at its core is choice, is undeniable and even unstopable. The argument being that once consumers get a taste, they won’t look back and any service provider who tries to maintain the status quo of content control will lose. This argument pits the cable industry and the telecom industry squarely against each other. Cable being the status quo and telecom being the potential provider of video choice.
It’s still too early to draw firm conclusions about winners and losers. Cable execs will tell you – we’re doing just fine, thank you very much. Telecom execs have a certain arrogance as well. Both think they have the winning strategy. The beauty of a free market dictates that consumers will ultimately decide. Both industries would do well to listen.
For more insight on this, read John Dvorak’s MarketWatch.com column.
My Fiber is Better Than Yours
20 Mar, 2007Verizon and Cablevision are battling it out in the New York metropolitan area, with claims of who has the best fiber network. Verizon doesn’t take kindly to the fact that Cablevision is clearly trying to counter Verizon’s FiOS publicity of an advanced FTTH network. While Cablevision has a very advanced network, it is fiber to the node, with coax connections to the home. The real question to ponder is do consumers really care whether fiber is extended all the way to their home. Probably not – both networks are providing an advanced triple play experience. Time will tell whether one has a true advantage over the other.
Read this Washington Post article for more insight.
Competition Reaches All Corners of the U.S.
12 Mar, 2007Qwest recently introduced extended area local calling in portions of South Dakota, due in part to remain competitive. The Northern Hills area of South Dakota has seen its fair share of telecom competition, and some say, Qwest was a little slow to react. A fiber network overbuilder, Black Hills FiberCom, and Midcontinent Cable introduced triple play bundles year’s ago, causing Qwest customers to flee in great numbers. Some say Qwest is too late with their latest offering, but this is a great “microscope” example that competition exists everywhere, including the “heartland.”
Read this Rapid City Journal article for great analysis of this situation.
About Telecompetitor
Telecompetitor is a leading industry blog covering the telecom competitive landscape. We provide insight, analysis, and commentary on the issues and implications of the evolving telecom competitive landscape.
a publication of
Channel
Webinars/Events
Upcoming Events
NTCA Annual Meeting
Feb 8-11, 2009 - Long Beach, CA
Featured Article
Should Telephone Service be Free?
12 Oct, 2008
Comcast announced a new promotion last week that offers 12 months of free basic cable service for new customers who also sign up for an additional service. Customers who don’t want an additional service can get Comcast’s basic service of about 20 -30 channels for $10/month. The promotion is tied to the digital TV transition of February 2009 and entices potential customers to avoid the transition “hassle” by getting “free” cable service. “The simple fact is that basic cable is the easiest path through the digital transition and now consumers can get it for free,” said Derek Harrar, General Manager and Senior Vice President, Video Services for Comcast in a company statement. This move is similar to strategies pursued by other video service providers, who are hoping to leverage the digital TV transition for new subscriber additions.
But is this strategy a leading indicator for the future? Should basic core services like basic cable and basic telephone service be offered for free, used as a “carrot” to entice customers to buy “more important” services like broadband? Maybe a very basic phone service, with no LD, access to landline 911, and maybe outgoing service only (to avoid telemarketers) should be a free component of a bundled offering. Such a wireline service may appeal to a customer who previously cut the cord for wireless only, but also needs broadband. There is a growing portion of the population who find the value of traditional wireline phone service elsewhere – either through wireless or broadband/IP services. But, if they could get the security of landline 911, and an extra dial tone in their home as a free value add for subscribing to broadband (or video from a telco’s perspective), maybe a telco’s bundled offering may look more attractive than a comparable cable offering. I realize this idea is not appealing to the hundreds of ILECs who are a part of the current access/settlement system (in fact, it couldn’t work in the context of today’s regulatory structure), but I wonder whether it’s inevitable. In this possible future scenario, the current settlement system adapts to broadband as the underlying service, as opposed to voice.
This scenario cuts both ways. From a cable company’s perspective, a growing portion of the population is turning to the Internet as a source for their video content, and no longer see value in paying for a broad package of video as a part of a traditional subscription pay-TV service. But, if they could receive basic TV (which includes local broadcast affiliates) as a free value add for buying broadband, maybe the cable bundle is more attractive. In a true IP/broadband world, very basic phone and video service is relatively easy to deliver, and has little impact on bandwidth and network performance. Maybe the digital transition is opening the door to a future where free basic services are a regular component of a bundled offering. Thoughts?