Comcast: Treading Slowly to Rationalize VoIP
[Comcast is stuck with nationwide switched circuit platforms carrying telephone traffic from AT&T Broadband, which it must justify; Comcast is another large cable mso that wants to compete on services, not price.]
Comcast: Treading Slowly to Rationalize VoIP
by Cynthia Brumfield
VoIP Monitor
9/04
While other top cable operators, including Time Warner and Cablevision, are racing to deploy VoIP, the industry’s largest player Comcast is still moving slowly to rationalize a full-fledged push into the increasingly competitive IP telephony arena. Speaking at a Morgan Stanley conference on 9/8, Comcast Co-CFO John Alchin reiterated the company’s view that Comcast won’t become a commodity service provider in the voice business.
“Our issue with telephony has been first and foremost to rationalize that business, while at the same time we’ve been pushing ahead very aggressively to roll out the network,” he said. Despite its lack of VoIP launches, Comcast is prepping its networks to accommodate the new technology, with 60% of the plant slated to be VoIP-enabled by year-end 2004, and almost 100% capable of transmitting IP telephony by year-end 2004.
“We will then have a clean slate to work out what our VoIP deployment will be,” Alchin said. Fearful of getting caught up in the intense competition for pure voice services, Comcast is trying to work out how to distinguish its VoIP options so that they are distinct, feature-laden services that consumers want to buy.
“We’re not trying to come out with a commodity product that is the lowest priced in that area,” he said, adding that premium features and functions could help Comcast sidestep the wafer thin margins that commodity telephony service entails.
“But,” he added, “the jury is still out” regarding that strategy. Comcast plans to mine the three VoIP market trials currently underway for some insight into how to make VoIP as lucrative as possible. “Then, we’ll make the determination on how they will be priced and packaged in 2005.” |
