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Carrier Triple Play is About Self-Preservation

Service providers around the globe see triple play services not merely as a means of increasing top-line revenue, but as a means of self-preservation, says a new study by Infonetics Research.

Network operators are redefining and realigning themselves to be the one-stop shop for all things digital for residential and enterprise subscribers, and they believe triple play services will give them the competitive edge they need to succeed. Take as evidence the fact that North American, European, and Asia Pacific service providers participating in the study report that on average nearly 40 percent of their capital expenditures were spent on triple play network equipment in 2005.

The majority of service providers in the study plan to further increase capex spending in the next 12 months on IPTV equipment, broadband CPE, broadband aggregation equipment, and voice over broadband equipment, and they expect revenue growth in all areas of triple play services in the next 12 months.

And a big chunk of revenue it is: The average percent of total company revenue from triple play services ranges from 43 percent to 48 percent between 2005 and 2007. IP voice is a big draw for triple play providers, but it's video that's really the newest, most exciting, and most technically challenging part of triple play services, and IPTV is where all the action is. In fact, all but one of Infonetics' service provider respondents already offer IPTV, and that one will offer it by 2007.

Sample Study Findings:

- The top 2 drivers for respondent service providers deploying triple play services are 1) increased broadband revenue per user and 2) new revenue streams
- 58 percent of respondent service providers rate vendor interoperability a key technical challenge when rolling out triple play services
- The most pressing business challenge triple play service providers face is securing broadcast and on-demand video content; acquiring content is also a challenge
- iTV (interactive TV) is the fastest growing video service offered by service providers, bringing Internet capabilities directly to the TV screen, including instant messaging, shop at home, click to call and click to purchase capabilities, and, most significantly, online gaming services.
- 2/3 will deploy IP/Ethernet DSLAMs by 2007
- 67 percent rate low-cost as very important when considering IP set top box features
- Though more respondents currently use Cisco for their triple play aggregation, when it comes to unaided brand awareness for triple play infrastructure providers, Alcatel leads Cisco, and Microsoft is third

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