TV Won't Save Telcos, Says Poll

Can wireline telecom operators compensate for their continuing loss of telephone revenues by rolling out TV services over broadband infrastructure?

Not according to early results of Light Reading's February Research Poll.

The poll asks people to predict the likely results of two types of convergence by year 2010 -- the convergence of wireline and wireless services, and the convergence of Internet, telephone, and TV infrastructure.

The first type of convergence is likely to have a much bigger impact than the second, according to the survey results so far. As a result, wireless operators have the best prospects, according to 54 percent of respondents. Conversely, telecom operators have the worst prospects.

This is largely because of the shift of telephone traffic from fixed to mobile networks. Between 25 and 50 percent of people will use their cell phones for all voice calls from home by 2010 according to the biggest proportion of respondents, 43 percent.

Efforts by telecom operators to compensate for their loss of telephony reviews by launching TV services aren’t going to work. Less than 10 percent of people will watch TV over telecom networks (as opposed to broadcast, cable or direct-to-home satellite networks) by 2010 according to 69 percent of respondents.

The success of wireless operators in capturing telephone traffic also spells trouble for cable operators, according to the poll. Less than 25 percent of people will make most of their phone calls from home over cable networks by 2010, according to more than two thirds of respondents.

To see the full results and add your views to the poll, click on this link.

— Nicole Willing, Reporter, Light Reading