Surprise: cable companies edging closer to bandwidth exigency
By Darren Murph 
posted Aug 20th 2007 9:08AM
posted Aug 20th 2007 9:08AM
We know, it was a year ago yesterday that we had this very same conversation, but apparently, cable companies aren't heeding the advice of analysts. According to yet another study, this time by ABI Research, "cable providers will soon be faced with a serious bandwidth crunch" as more and more individuals look to online gaming, video-on-demand, and IPTV for enjoying their precious moments of leisure. Compounding the problem is the growing demand for more HD channels in the lineup, and considering that the satellite operators are already raising the bar, cable carriers can only play dumb for so much longer. Stan Schatt, VP and research director for ABI Research, was quoted as saying that "digital switching is key" to releasing some of the strain on current infrastructures, and while we aren't ones to believe that the influx of online TV delivery will debilitate the internet (or cable providers), something seemingly has to give -- and soon.[Via Slashdot]
The death of cable is close and satellite will be king albeit still with sucky service going out when a leaf falls and overcompressed hd
They are ripping up the streets in my neighborhood. Fiber optics are the new standard, I think. Should be fast with wider pipes!
can anyone give me a quick and easy definition of digital switching.
I don't know how things are for other companies, but I know the largest cable provider here in Alaska is pulling out it's proverbial hair because it still needs to broadcast digitial *and* analog signals through it's network as somewhere close to 30% of it's subscribers won't turn in their analog boxes. There is no reason what-so-ever for this, as they would get new boxes for free, some kind of bonus like free cable for a month, or free HBO for six months, and they would even send a courier out with the new box to exchange it for you if you can't do it for some reason (elderly, disabled, just plain lazy, whatever) Common sense would say to give these people a few months to comply, then shut off the analog network completely. Unfortunately, the FCC forbids that sort of thing, and we are still more then a year away from the official analog cut off. As a sort of compromise, starting this September, the company is going to begin making certain networks only available over digital channels, one by one starting with Home and Garder, QVC, and Lifetime, which also happen to be three of the most watched ones by analog subscribers. They have been running a little ticker across all analog channels for the last two months announcing this, but there is still going to be a bunch of pissed of people come September first.
On the upside, it means more bandwidth for HD content and digital cable.
I can only hope that this coming "crunch" will force cable companies to provide channels ala carte thus freeing up needed bandwith. I'd gladly give up the foreign language and QVS type channels for more interactivity.
While analog channels on cable systems sure as hell restrict things, it has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with the 2009 analog cut-off. Way too many people are outright saying or implying they are the same, they are NOT.
The way I see it (pertaining to cable) it's the folks with the 10 dollar a month accounts that are without STBs that is a big part of the cable companies not aggressively pursuing the shutting down of their analog channels... so the guys paying 150-200 a month suffer from serious lack of HD (in my market, there are about 70 analogs that would mean 160+ HD channels!).
BTW, I have no idea about nationally, but cable has been fiber for about 6-7 years now; they go fiber to copper about 100" from my apartment building. We have no real information if Verizon, when they bring FIOS in will go to each apartment; such a process would triple the roll-out time that took cable to go fiber (they took about 2 1/2 years to get my borough wired top to bottom).