Cable Engineers Fear Fiber's Marketing Appeal

Alan Breznick, Cable/Video Practice Leader, Light Reading

June 21, 2005

1 Min Read
Cable Engineers Fear Fiber's Marketing Appeal

Top cable engineers may insist that they're not all that worried about losing their industry's technological edge to the big regional phone companies. But they're definitely worried about losing their marketing edge to the Baby Bells.That fear clearly surfaced last week at the SCTE's Cable-Tec Expo in San Antonio. Tony Werner, senior vice president and CTO of Liberty Media, publicly expressed the concern at a general session of leading cable technologists. Even though he argued that cable's current hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) networks could match the fiber-rich networks that the Bells are now building, he freely conceded that the telcos' fiber plans could turn many consumers' heads. 'Fiber offers no technological advantage to speak of,' Werner said dismissively. 'Fiber is a sales term.' But, he noted, it could be an awfully effective sales term. 'Even my grandma knows fiber is good,' he quipped, drawing laughs from the crowd.Werner called for cable operators to compete with the phone companies on the marketing front by crafting 'sexy' new names for their networks and products. 'We need to come up with better marketing terms for our networks,' he said. 'FTTH (fiber-to-the-home) impresses people; it just sounds good. We've got to have something that sounds as good or better.'

About the Author(s)

Alan Breznick

Cable/Video Practice Leader, Light Reading

Alan Breznick is a business editor and research analyst who has tracked the cable, broadband and video markets like an over-bred bloodhound for more than 20 years.

As a senior analyst at Light Reading's research arm, Heavy Reading, for six years, Alan authored numerous reports, columns, white papers and case studies, moderated dozens of webinars, and organized and hosted more than 15 -- count 'em --regional conferences on cable, broadband and IPTV technology topics. And all this while maintaining a summer job as an ostrich wrangler.

Before that, he was the founding editor of Light Reading Cable, transforming a monthly newsletter into a daily website. Prior to joining Light Reading, Alan was a broadband analyst for Kinetic Strategies and a contributing analyst for One Touch Intelligence.

He is based in the Toronto area, though is New York born and bred. Just ask, and he will take you on a power-walking tour of Manhattan, pointing out the tourist hotspots and the places that make up his personal timeline: The bench where he smoked his first pipe; the alley where he won his first fist fight. That kind of thing.

Subscribe and receive the latest news from the industry.
Join 62,000+ members. Yes it's completely free.

You May Also Like