Digital Lifescapes

Broadband powerline networking, a wired technology that does not require new cabling to be installed, is poised to emerge as a winner in the residential networking interface race on a worldwide basis, reports In-Stat. Powerline networking has advantages over coax and twisted-pair cabling for in-home deployment. This is especially true in regions with few existing coax or phone jacks, such as in EMEA, Asia, and Pacific Rim countries. The competing wired technologies, coax and twisted pair, that also do not require new wires will end up sharing the market in some areas. "Some service providers fully expect to use multiple technologies and mediums that will co-exist in their in-home deployments, as long as each medium meets the operators' service quality and cost objectives," says Joyce Putscher, In-Stat analyst. In-Stat's study found the following: - In 2005, worldwide unit shipments of broadband powerline equipment surpassed 2 million, and the market has reached an inf...

TelecomTV has made their video available online for several panel discussions that were recorded at the recent IBC show (free site registration is required to view videos). There's a common theme that comes through all the shared perspectives from the panel members -- that is, the denial that when consumers have a multitude of choices, program viewing habits change dramatically, and younger consumers have very different expectations than their older counterparts. Meaning, this is not business as usual. Regardless, traditional equipment vendors, network broadcasters, communications service providers and content creators still talk in terms of how to 'maintain control', while realigning their current status quo, and making sure that their 'channels' are watched by those eager 'average' consumers. It's as though they have read the market research, they say they understand the implications, but when asked how they will now react -- the response typically as...

According to a Current Analysis market assessment, under the banner of FiOS for Verizon and U-verse for AT&T, the two largest ILECs in the U.S. have ambitious projects underway to roll out residential fiber that reaches, or at least passes close to, millions of homes they serve. The point of this exercise is two-fold. First, it helps to counter the voice/video/Internet bundles the cable TV industry is increasingly able to muster over a single, converged pipe; second, it helps to take advantage of a regulatory windfall that allows telcos to lock resale-based competitors out of incumbents' fiber-based access. For example, the FCC has exempted fiber-to-the-home and fiber-to-the-curb networks from competitive access. In late June 2006, AT&T launched its U-verse line of IPTV and broadband access services powered by its fiber-to-the-node network in 6,200 homes in San Antonio, TX. At the end of Q2 2006, FiOS TV passed 1.5 million Verizon households in 60 markets in seven states: C...

U.S. digital still camera and camcorder owners are accessorizing to complement existing assets. According to a new IDC survey of U.S. digital still camera and camcorder owners, 84 percent of respondents have purchased accessories, and the majority are very pleased with those purchases. For those looking to purchase accessories in the future, memory cards, add-on lenses, and 4x6 photo printers are among the wish-list leaders. "When digital still cameras owners outshoot the capacity of the memory card bundled with their camera, they are very willing to purchase additional, higher capacity cards," said Chris Chute, research manager for IDC's Worldwide Digital Imaging Solutions group. The 4x6 photo printer has also emerged as a critical accessory to digital still camera users. "Photo printers are helping break the chains of traditional PC dependency," Chute said. "Ease of use, photo print speed improvements and eroding prices are contributing factors to the suc...

U.S. broadband households are a prime market for connected home entertainment, with over 16 million harboring strong interest in these applications, according to a new report from Parks Associates. The report, which draws from the 2006 survey "Managing the Digital Home: Installation and Support Services," says that 39 percent of broadband households with a data network and 37 percent of broadband households without a home network consider multimedia networking applications highly valuable. "Multimedia networking applications, such as sharing media files on a network or streaming content from a PC to one or more entertainment platforms, are key aspects of the connected entertainment experience consumers are demanding," said Harry Wang, research analyst at Parks Associates. "With the market for multimedia networking still in its infancy, such relatively strong interest is a blessing to vendors in the digital home industry." Companies must take an active role...

ClickZ columnist Pete Lerma offers the following commentary about how marketers and their advertising agencies could apply YouTube, or similar viral video portals to post promotional content. I would add that there's the risk of being too commercial or professional in the video production process, because that approach tends to repel rather than attract viewers. With that thought in mind, I've been experimenting. Armed only with the free Microsoft Windows Movie Maker plus Sony's ACID XPress software, some stock video clips, and a simple idea -- I was able to quickly produce a digital media mix entitled " Digital Media in Action ." This video clearly wasn't produced with the intent to win a Clio award, but perhaps that's the mistaken approach of marketers who believe that they must use conventional advertising wisdom to create engaging viral video content. So you think you might... possibly... want to consider... maybe... placing your brand on YouTube? Why ...

For most U.S. broadband service providers, the creation of a multi-play bundle of services is little more than an innovation in billing that's disguised as a new offering. Therefore, we shouldn't be surprised that research has proven that consumers are still motivated by bundle price reductions, essentially creating a new class of low-margin customers. The current multi-play scenario reminds me of the time when one of my professional mentors responded to a suggestion that I had for a pricing-related service promotion, he said "any fool can grow market share by giving away the product, and so that's not a path to intelligent market leadership." Telephia reports more than 31 million online homes or two out of five online U.S. households subscribe to bundled services from one provider. Bundled services can include any combination of Internet, TV, phone, and mobile phone subscriptions in a single package. According to Telephia’s Total Communications Survey for Q2 2006...

The increasing strain that peer-to-peer (P2P) networking traffic is putting on broadband networks is creating a growing demand for products that can identify and weed out bandwidth-hogging P2P data through the use of deep packet inspection (DPI) technology, according to the latest report published by Light Reading. "DPI has emerged as a key tool to combat bandwidth hogs and enable quality of service in broadband networks," notes James Crawshaw, Research Analyst for Light Reading Insider and author of the report. "Large service providers initially thought they could get around the problem of P2P by throwing more bandwidth at the problem, but P2P has become so pervasive that even the large operators are turning to DPI to combat P2P." Crawshaw adds that interest in DPI as a P2P blocker grew first in Asia, but that European and North American operators are now making aggressive moves to deploy the technology. "The business case for DPI investment appears strong,...

Equipment vendors continue to benefit from global service provider 3G wireless infrastructure investments, regardless of the consistently low global market uptake of value added services -- as the vast majority of subscribers use their 3G phones primarily for voice calls. Still, ABI Research believes that after years of market uncertainty, with investors wringing their hands and restructuring their finances, they say that 3G has finally gained credibility. "3G subscriptions, including CDMA2000, are forecast to hit 285 million by the end of 2006," says ABI Research's Asia-Pacific director, Jake Saunders. He goes on to say that, "Operators' overall capital expenditure will grow for the fourth year to reach $126.4 billion, and annual 3G-related handset shipments should pull past 300 million." W-CDMA is starting to pull its weight in the 3G stakes, and is expected to overhaul CDMA2000 by about 2012, but CDMA2000 is certainly not out for the count: it has proved ...

According to Ovum, China will overtake the U.S. to become the world's biggest broadband market, in less than a year. China's broadband sector has been growing dramatically at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 79 percent, over the last three years. The strong growth will continue to boost the broadband market, which will reach 79 million subscribers by 2007. But the growth opportunity is still huge. With a penetration rate of only 3.4 percent of the population, broadband penetration in China is well behind many countries in the Asia-Pacific region. "We believe China's broadband development will continue to benefit from a booming economy, growing incomes, expanding PC penetration and new applications such as VoIP and IPTV. The Olympics will provide another boost", says Ovum Senior Analyst, Kevin Lee, based in Hong Kong. Ovum forecasts for China's broadband will grow by a CAGR of 75 percent to reach 139 million subscribers by 2010. China Telecom and China N...

Here in the U.S. market, broadband industry analysts venture a guess at who will lead the 'profitable' race for multi-play service bundles -- assumed to be valued at more than $100 per month. In Europe, as a result of escalating competition, the situation is very different. Informitv reports that NTL Telewest will now offer free digital television and video-on-demand with its home telephone service in the UK. The initiative is evidence of an increasingly competitive communications and entertainment services market. The free package includes 36 television channels, including Sky One which is normally only available through subscription services. Customers can upgrade to other pay-television packages or a personal video recorder and high-definition. The latter are only available in former Telewest areas but will be offered to NTL customers by the end of the year. The initiative comes in response to the dramatic growth of Freeview, which offers a wide range of free digital televis...

Reuters reports that China's largest fixed-line company, China Telecom Corp., and Shanghai Media Group launched a joint internet TV (IPTV) service, as companies in China's maturing telecoms market forage into Web-based areas. BesTV, the Internet Protocol Television service -- TV sent over telecoms networks using Internet protocol -- may reach 80,000 to 100,000 households by the end of 2006, BesTV chief operating officer Li Huaiyu said on the sidelines of the launch. Shanghai Media Group is the first company in China to receive a license from Beijing to run IPTV. With growth slowing in China's telecoms market -- the world's biggest with over 360 million fixed-line and over 430 million mobile users -- China Telecom and rival China Netcom Group Corp. are looking to newer, non-voice services. Both companies have invested large sums upgrading their networks in recent years for the deployment of high-speed data services, including broadband Internet and IPTV.

According to Pyramid Research, the introduction of video services calls for a fundamental business transformation for telcos as they become media and entertainment companies. From operating a network to provide voice and Internet access services, wireline operators will move to operating a video network as well. Besides the network management challenges and investments, operators will have to learn how to operate a new business as effectively as they can to maximize opportunities. As a media company, an operator will work closely with companies that it formerly has not, including content providers, consumer electronics providers and advertisers. Moving into the video space, content suddenly becomes very important and could determine whether a business will succeed or not. Operators have to understand the dynamics of the content market, develop content strategies for target segments and license content. Not all content succeeds; however, the content that does, creates audiences that ca...

Cable operators worldwide stand to earn revenues in excess of $1 billion in 2011 from mobile traffic backhaul, according to a study from ABI Research. In contrast, 2006 revenues are forecast to be only $57.6 million. The difference represents a 75 percent CAGR over the forecast period. According to principal analyst, Michael Arden, cable operators' interest in the mobile market takes two forms: "On one hand, cable operators are considering the revenues to be gained from leasing their networks for mobile backhaul. On the other, they are getting involved as direct competitors in the mobile arena, and will brand their own mobile services." In the United States, most MSOs seem likely to partner with Sprint -- using Sprint's base stations and other mobile infrastructure. However, as the cable operators' own mobile brands gain traction, they will backhaul their own traffic. In this scenario, the mobile operators do not quite play the role of MVNOs, because the cable ope...

As I've previously stated, the typical consumer electronics (CE) remote control design leaves much to be desired. That said, I'm always on the look out for a fresh approach. I strongly believe that creative and functional designs can positively differentiate a device in an otherwise 'commodity' CE product category. Ruwido, the leading European manufacturer of remote controls, presents VEXO, a universal remote control designed to control all functions of up to 16 devices without the need for a single button. Now, that's certainly a different approach. VEXO is a stylish innovation with minimalist design. A silver-coloured key-coin made of aluminium, set in black glossy polycarbonate glass, replaces the usual chaos of buttons. The thumb is used to intuitively control all functions with rotating and pressing operations. A back-lit display clearly guides the user through the breadth of devices and functions. The core of the innovative usability concept behind the VEXO is...

Marking the 20th anniversary of the Burning Man festival and its first major live TV coverage, Current TV has partnered with the event, which will allow the network unprecedented access during a week in Black Rock Desert, 120 miles north of Reno, Nevada. Burning Man, which attracted over 35,500 participants last year, is a conceptual and performance art-infused celebration described as “an annual experiment in temporary community dedicated to radical self-expression and radical self-reliance.” Throughout the week-long festival, Current will produce daily, 8-10 minute feature stories to rotate within the network’s usual “shuffle” programming, including articipant-created content by veteran festival goers and neophytes alike. On the night of Saturday, September 2, Current will air its first-ever live block of programming at 9:00-10:00pm PST, capturing live performances such as fire dancing leading up to the capstone of the festival -- the burning of a giant wooden “man” sculpture. Curre...

Reuters reports that the music industry has delayed publishing its global market share figures because of supposed squabbles over the methodology for counting digital sales. The disagreement comes at a time when the industry is facing growing criticism that it is controlled by too few companies. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, the music sector's global trade group, released its annual compendium of 2005 industry data -- with the market share figures omitted. The four major music companies -- Vivendi's Universal Music, Sony BMG, EMI Group and Warner Music -- account for about three of every four albums sold in the world. The IFPI said its members were still tussling over how to account for digital sales, and that the figures would be released later in the year. By that time the information will be nearly a year out of date. The trade body said there were no market share figures to disclose as yet because it had not yet collected them for 2005. "Th...

The New York Times reports that the announcement of Google's CEO joining the Apple board touched off a wave of speculation about the motives of the man behind the move: Apple's co-founder, Steven P. Jobs. While Google’s and Apple’s strategies are aligned in many ways, there are also potential areas of conflict. Both companies are rumored to be developing smartphones that would potentially compete. Clearly, the big media companies will be watching this new development very closely, as they attempt to defend their legacy news and entertainment turf. The global wireless service providers also have reason to be curious -- will they now work on a mobile smartphone design together, and is this good or bad for the telco sector? There are many possibilities for a complementary strategy between their companies. This week, for example, Google announced that it was beginning to weave together a number of services that could be a Web-based competitor to Microsoft Office. And Mr. Jobs has s...

The broadband boom continues, says Infonetics Research in three new reports tracking the broadband CPE, DSL aggregation hardware, and CMTS markets. According to the reports, worldwide broadband CPE sales increased 5 percent to $1.4 billion in the second quarter of 2006; DSL aggregation hardware sales increased 14 percent to $1.8 billion; and while CMTS sales dropped 18 percent to $211 million on the heels of a blockbuster 30 percent gain in the first quarter, CMTS revenue is up 15 percent from this time last year and is expected to post strong growth through 2009. "This quarter's growth in DSL port and broadband CPE unit shipments is proof that the race to build out broadband access networks and sign up subscribers continues unabated," said Jeff Heynen, directing analyst for broadband and IPTV at Infonetics Research. "CMTS port shipments were also strong, despite falling from last quarter's record performance, as cable operators expand their footprint and capabil...

Per capita usage of video on demand (VOD) seems to be showing seasonal fluctuations at U.S. cable TV giant Comcast, indicating a degree of maturity that may pop up in broader VOD consumption trends. Comcast subscribers generated a peak of 44.5 VOD views in Q4 2005 (or 14.8 views per month) and then usage slid to 42.8 VOD views in spring-to-summer Q2 2006, according to analysis by Kagan Research. A view consists of a request for a discrete item of on-demand content. At the same time, the underlying pool of VOD subscribers keeps enlarging, making VOD a solid growth sector. Comcast's count of VOD enabled subs grew from 7.5 million in Q1 2005 to 10.0 million by Q2 2006. The growing pool drove up Comcast's total VOD views from 278 million in Q1 2005 to 420 million in Q2 2006. Comcast had 22.4 million total subscribers at end 2005—both digital and analog. Per-capita consumption could climb again if consumers warm to specific programming. Comcast, among the most aggressive cable syste...