Over the past 10 years, North American cable operators have poured more than $100 billion into upgrading their hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) networks. As a key part of that drive, U.S. and Canadian multiple system operators (MSOs) have gradually extended the reach of Internet Protocol (IP) in their networks, using the IP standard to branch into such new service areas as high-speed Internet access, voice over IP (VOIP), video on demand (VOD), and wireless communications.
With the release of the long-awaited Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (Docsis) version 3.0 from CableLabs in August 2006, cable operators are seeking to trump satellite TV and telco rivals by embracing IP more closely than ever before. As this edition of Light Reading's Cable Industry Insider spells out, MSOs aim to use the next-generation Docsis specification to deliver higher upstream and downstream data speeds to broadband subscribers, send high-quality digital video signals over Docsis networks, beam multimedia content to cellular phones and other mobile video devices, and support powerful IP set-top boxes.
Even as MSOs prepare to upgrade their networks and equipment for the arrival of Docsis 3.0, they are increasingly running scared. That's because phone companies, after more than a decade of false promises, are mounting their first serious threat to cable's video hegemony. Led by Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) and AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), the telcos are stringing the continent with thousands of miles of fiber optic lines as they race to transform their old copper-based networks into fat broadband pipes that can deliver voice, video, and data at faster speeds than cable.
Verizon is spending lavish sums to roll out its next-generation FiOS network throughout its 28-state swath of the U.S. Already the second-largest phone company and third-largest broadband provider in the nation, Verizon is betting that its new fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) architecture will offer users so much bandwidth that it will surpass Docsis 3.0 and whatever else the cable industry might conjure up. Verizon is also betting that its faster and more complete adoption of IP standards will enable it to provide voice, video, and data services more efficiently than its cable competitors.
This report, Docsis vs. FiOS: Tale of the Tape, explores the competing technological visions of the cable industry and its most threatening telco rival, Verizon, by comparing and contrasting FiOS and Docsis 3.0. The report explains how next-generation cable HFC and telco FTTP networks will work once fully deployed by their respective industries, and it looks at the timeline for the rollout of Docsis 3.0 equipment and the full deployment of FiOS, as well as the early penetration and cost figures for FiOS. Finally, it assesses the comparative strengths and weaknesses of the two technological platforms, providing a scorecard for the reader.
— Alan Breznick, Research Analyst, Light Reading’s Cable Industry Insider
The report, Docsis 3.0 vs. FiOS: Tale of the Tape, is available as part of an annual subscription (6 bimonthly issues) to Light Reading’s Cable Industry Insider, priced at $1,295. Individual reports are available for $900. For more information, or to subscribe, please visit: www.lightreading.com/cable.
