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Cable Operators Favor IPTV

By Sophia Mayengbam

As Internet Protocol (IP) for video services are gaining popularity, some cable operators are moving towards IP delivery as a means of offering their customers advanced interactive video services via the cable modem, according to a study from ABI Research. However, the research firm warns that the switch over to IP will come at a cost. Most of the computer premises equipment provided by operators to their customers will have to be exchanged for IP-capable versions.

The replacement to IP will require the installation of new equipment and new networks.

"Existing cable networks only allow quite basic video-on-demand services. They really can't handle high volumes of traffic and bandwidth demand, which limits the size of the content libraries that operators can offer. IP delivery not only moves a lot of the content that's clogging up the multicast network onto the IP network, but the greater bandwidth permits other advanced television services such as online shopping and viewer voting that create new revenue streams for operators," said ABI Research principal analyst Michael Arden.

ABI Research's new study, "Worldwide Cable TV Infrastructure, CPE and Services", pointed out that North America and South Korea are the best regions to make this transition, by virtue of their existing infrastructure and adoption of key DOCSIS standards.

The replacement would amount to a huge cost warns ABI. Most of the presently installed base of CPE will have to be replaced to support IP delivery with the exception of a few set-top boxes and residential gateways that have built in support for the current DOCSIS standard used for delivery through cable modems. And when the new DOCSIS 3.0 standard is finalised, all CPE without exception will need replacement, at a cost of up to USD 1000 per household.

The replacement will create a hue opportunity for dominant CPE vendors like Motorola and Scientific Atlanta. These companies will also be able to cash the involved upgrades to the cable modem termination systems at the operators’ headend installations.

Operators may also need new, larger servers and storage in order to handle the larger libraries and greater interactivity that IP-based delivery will allow, said ABI Research.


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