Lower Prices and Bundling Will Bring Broadband to 78 Million US Homes by 2010 -- After years of dominating the US market, cable operator's share of broadband Internet customers will decline steadily over the next five years, according to Strategy Analytics. Their report notes that although cable remains the leading broadband platform in the US, its share of the total base of broadband users fell from 62 to 59 percent in 2004. By the end of 2005, Strategy Analytics predicts that cable's share will slip to 57 percent, while share for telcos offering DSL and fiber services will grow from 39 to 41 percent. The combination of falling prices and multi-service bundles combining TV, telephony and high-speed Internet services will drive overall adoption of broadband sharply upward over the next five years. By 2010, the report predicts that nearly 78 million US customers will use some type of broadband service. Cable operators will account for about half of that total, while telcos will serve 43 percent of subscribers through a combination of DSL and advanced fiber networks. Meanwhile, SBC, Verizon and other telcos are using aggressive price cuts to maintain subscriber growth in DSL.
From my vantage point, few areas are evolving as rapidly and with such profound implications as the space sector. For decades, satellites were essentially fixed hardware – powerful, expensive, but ultimately immutable once launched. That paradigm is undergoing a transition driven by Software-Defined Satellites (SDS). A recent market study by ABI Research underscores this transition, painting a picture of technological advancement and a fundamental reshaping of global connectivity, security, and national interests. LEO SDS Market Development The core concept behind SDS is deceptively simple yet revolutionary: decouple the satellite's capabilities from its physical hardware. Instead of launching a satellite designed for a single, fixed purpose (like broadcasting specific frequencies to a specific region), SDS allows operators to modify, upgrade, and reconfigure a satellite's functions after it's in orbit, primarily through software updates. The ABI Research report highlights ...