Skip to main content

Cable MSOs Will Benefit from IPTV

The recent Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers Emerging Technologies conference showcased more than 20 technical papers outlining what the cable industry�s platform might look like in 2010.

For cable, IPTV represents a potentially more efficient platform to deliver video to the home. �In 2006, IPTV will be a word whispered with concern among cable executives in conference corridors, as it will be strongly associated with the rollouts of incumbent telephone operators,� wrote John Carlucci, chief network architect at Time Warner Cable, in an SCTE ET technical paper.

�In 2010, IPTV will be another delivery vehicle for cable, and it could even emerge as the overall direction of the industry,� Carlucci continued. �Advances in wideband DOCSIS (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification) leveraging the M-CMTS (modular cable-modem-termination system) architecture, which enables inexpensive downstream data transport, will enable the cost-effective deployment of IP set-top boxes in the cable network."

He added, �Other compatible devices could range from IP-cable-ready TVs to inherently IP-based PCs to handheld and mobile devices. Robust and mature IP-multicast technologies will be used to deliver individualized programming. All of the technologies that the telco competition believes will distinguish them from their competition can and will be just as readily available to cable subscribers, as well. With the analog-tuner technology removed from the set-top and further advances in silicon integration, the dream of a $35 set-top box will be realized."

Popular posts from this blog

When AI Spending Reaches $3.6 Trillion

Enterprise AI budgets are flowing in two directions at once, and only one of them builds an asset the buyer actually controls. Gartner's latest forecast puts worldwide AI spending at $2.7 trillion in 2026, but the composition of that figure matters far more than the total. Executives who read only the headline will miss the tension between what they are buying and what they actually own. The Number Behind the Number Gartner projects 2026 AI spending is a 49.5 percent increase over 2025, with $3.6 trillion forecast for 2027. AI infrastructure accounts for $1.5 trillion of this year's total, more than half. Gartner's John-David Lovelock calls the data center buildout the largest infrastructure project humanity has undertaken, and describes demand as inelastic even as memory prices climb. Compute Concentration is a Sovereignty Issue Gartner expects hyperscalers and service providers buying AI-optimized servers to remain the largest single area of spending. For an enterprise, t...