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according to the European Telecommunications Network
Operators’ Association.
For retail service providers, cable TV entry into con-
sumer voice, Internet access, small and mid-sized business
services has meant more pricing pressure, revenue growth
limitations and lower profit margins.
At the wholesale and capacity levels, cable TV compa-
nies generally have been capacity buyers, but have steered as
much of their buying toward non-traditional suppliers, not
telco-affiliated business units.
In the small and mid-sized business market, cable TV
companies have provided huge competition for many other
independent SMB specialists. Gradually, cable TV providers
have assumed roles in both consumer voice and SMB voice
and data that displace other providers.
Now cable TV operators have begun a long-planned ex-
pansion into enterprise customer services, as well as the core
mobility services market.
In the channel segment, cable TV operators also have
emerged as key product suppliers for agencies and distributors.
Since cable TV operators use an entirely-different net-
work platform (hybrid fiber coax) instead of the traditional
telco all-copper, fiber-to-node or fiber-to-premises plat-
forms, the cable TV industry also supports a distinct sup-
plier base, where it comes to access infrastructure.
For the first time in the history of the telecom busi-
ness, we have the emergence of a segment of the business
that does not rely on the traditional fixed network plat-
form, enters the market from a different position (video
entertainment first, telecom the new business), often with
different cost structures and business culture, and often
sees itself in a distinct way.
U.S. Cable Impact:
Consumer Market
Cable’s emergence as a significant force in the U.S.
telecom market has affected most of the rest of the busi-
ness, with the exception of mobility and enterprise services,
though that also will change.
Most affected have been retail telcos, which have seen
cable TV become the dominant supplier of consumer high-
speed access, the second-biggest provider of consumer voice
connections, and perhaps the second-biggest supplier of
voice and data services to small and mid-sized businesses.
In 2013, looking at overall high-speed access services, for
example, cable already had the majority of market share, as
estimated by Market Realist. And that is true not only in the
U.S. market, but elsewhere.
U.K. cable operators are providing a disproportionate
share of the fastest connections, according to Ofcom, the
U.K. communications regulator. Average telco ADSL speeds
were 6.7 Mbps in November 2013 compared to 5.9 Mbps in
May 2013, according to Ofcom.
In the U.K. market, the average download speed of resi-
dential cable broadband connections in the same time frame
was 40.2 Mbps in November 2013 compared to 34.9 Mbps
in May 2013.
That is true elsewhere in Europe as well. Investments in
high-speed broadband networks helped Europe’s cable operators
such as Liberty Global and Altice accelerate revenue growth in
2014 to 4.6 percent, industry group Cable Europe says.
A separate analysis conducted for the U.S. Federal
Communications Commission as part of its work on the
national broadband plan found cable operators supplied
the top 5 percent of the fastest Internet connections
since 2007.
In the consumer fixed network voice business, cable had
37 percent of the consumer fixed network voice business,
compared to 58 percent for telcos. All other providers had
just 5 percent share.
For those who remember the excitement and market
share gained by competitive local exchange carriers in the
Cable’s Impact
Source: Accenture
21%
are not too concerned
about: security breaches
such as hacker attacks
37%
decided to be more
cautious when using
loT devices and services
Source: Accenture
Consumers who intend to buy these
device in the next year (2016)
% point movement over last
Smartphone
TV
Laptop computer
Tablet
Smartwatch
Wearable fitness monitor
Wearable health device
Home connected surveillance camera
In Vehicle automation system
In vehicle entertainment system
Smarthome thermostat
Home 3D printer
Personal drone
48%
30%
30%
29%
13%
13%
11%
11%
10%
10%
9%
8%
7%
-6%
-8%
-6%
-9%
Source: Center for Disease Control; U.S. Census; Market Realists
Market Share in Fixed Segment, 2013
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Cable
Wireline
Others
Fixed broadband
Residential fixed voice
41%
56%
58%
37%
SoH
(micro) Business
1-4 Emplyed; $0.2
Trillion in Revenue
SMB Business
5-499 Employed;
$1.9 Trillion in Revenue
Large Enterprises
January - February 2016 |
Channel
Vision
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