ABI on Cable Cos.' Triple Play Delivery

This news release, which appeared today, outlines some of the architecture and strategies cable companies are using to roll out triple play services:

ABI Research Finds Cable Companies Looking to IP to Enable ''Triple Play''

This excerpt is particularly interesting:

A key component, says Michael Arden, the firm's principal analyst of broadband and residential entertainment technologies, is the DOCSIS Set-Top Gateway, which incorporates a broadband modem allowing high-speed delivery of video and other rich content through an IP connection rather than by the conventional cable. "That allows for easier and more interactive delivery of certain services," says Arden. "Video-on-demand will be the first, but later the architecture will permit additional, interactive services: Voice over IP, wireless, on-demand music channels, network-based personal video recording, HDTV, messaging, gaming and more."

Using switched-video technology, it also allows the cable company to know which channel a customer is requesting. That means more efficient use of bandwidth, but will also provide the cable operator with detailed knowledge of users' consumption patterns for marketing and advertising.

Telcos are already starting to offer such packages with their broadband and triple-play offerings, and, says Arden, the cable companies are desperate to catch up before their rivals gain an irreversible lead.

AB -- 4/7/05