Re: MSO Upgrades - Time Warner / Cox Communications
"I asked for an estimate of how much coaxial plant is upgraded to HFC(Hybrid Fiber Coax) nationwide, and they estimate it to be 10%."
Thread,
I ran across the article below on the CUBE thread. I tried to find the url but was unable.
It appears to conflict with the general information I posted earlier (see linked post) regarding Dycom(sym:DY). IMHO, the time frames both Time Warner and Cox state for HFC upgrade completion, seem pretty ambitious to me. But I'm only guessing from the bits and pieces I read about cableco's HFC, "passed homes," figures.
BTW both MSO's in my area, Time Warner and GTE Americast are offering digital television broadcasting options over their competing HFC networks today. From my view, digital is happening quickly.
MikeM(From Florida)
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INTERACTIVE CABLE FUTURE COMING TO A TOWN NEAR YOU
11/1/99 Phillips Business Information, Inc.
By Jennifer Whalen
For the past two years, cable operators have been furiously upgrading their networks by adding fiber and activating the return path. Those improvements are paying off in spades, as cable operators are now positioned to offer a host of new digital, telephony and interactive services over their hybrid fiber coax networks.
Time Warner Cable is one of the leaders when it comes to network upgrades and activating the return path of its 220,000 miles of plant. "By the end of this year, our upgrades will be 83 percent complete," says Paul Gemme, vice president of plant engineering for Time Warner Cable.
Cox Communications is right on Time Warner's heels when it comes to upgrading its now 106,000 miles of plant. "Based on the recent acquisitions, we're now claiming that we'll be 78 percent upgraded at the end of 2000. At the end of this year, we'll be 65 percent complete," reported Alex Best, executive vice president of engineering at Cox Communications.
So what new services will cable systems deliver over their now fiber-rich networks? Digital television probably will see the most growth next year, as many operators have already launched the service and will spend 2000 aggressively deploying it. The Strategis Group forecasts revenues from digital cable will more than double, climbing from $359 million in 1999 to $817 million in 2000.
"During 2000, there will be probably 25 divisions that have full digital launches," Gemme says. "The remainder will follow the next year. That may get bumped up depending on the success and our capital. If we had our druthers, we'd launch everywhere, because we think it's going to be a huge success."
An Interactive Future
Of course one of the key benefits of a two-way network is the ability to offer interactive services. As we move into 2000, the cable industry in general will move more into interactive services.
One such service is Internet to the TV," Best says. Using a remote control, customers will be able to send and receive e-mail or access the Internet from their TV rather than the PC. "We intend to trial Internet to the TV in our San Diego system sometime after the first of the year," he adds.
"The holy grail of video services - video on demand - is also reaching prime time. The falling prices for digital set-tops and file servers to store and stream video is making VOD a reality," says Best, adding that Cox plans a VOD trial next year.
Time Warner Cable is even more ambitious. Having learned a great deal from what some dubbed its "failed" Orlando Full Service Network experiment in the early '90s, the MSO launched two VOD technical trials-one in Tampa and the other in Austin. Both trials use Scientific-Atlanta's Explorer 2000 digital set-top boxes. Two different vendors are supplying media servers and digital systems- Concurrent Computer Corp. in Tampa, and SeaChange International in Austin.
Over the past two weeks, two more cable operators have jumped on the VOD train. Insight Communications now offers DIVA's commercial VOD services to customers in its Rockford, Ill., system. Insight uses General Instrument's DCT 2000 digital set-tops.
And, Cablevision Systems tapped DiviCom for new headend equipment to support VOD and interactive games for delivery to the New York metropolitan market next year.
What About Telephony?
While plans are in full swing for digital TV and cable modem service, operators have been slower to dive into telephony. Cox is one cable operator with a strong foothold in residential telephony. The company ended the third quarter with 80,952 residential voice customers.
But Cox is ambitious, wanting a piece of the lucrative business market. It spent $200 million upgrading the 20,000-plus fiber miles in its Orange County, Calif., network to deliver business services. Just two weeks ago, the operator began offering local and long distance phone service as well as its portfolio of high-speed data and video services. "Our intent is to put the manpower, resources and focus in place to go after the commercial market in a much bigger way," Best says.
Time Warner, slower to move into telephony, isn't about to cool its heels forever. "We plan to continue our conversations with AT&T," Gemme says. "We will get a deal done with AT&T and launch telephony in 2000." |
