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2008
Posted by Kevin Walsh on 13-May-2008
But it's supposed to happen that way
I am continually astonished by people bemoaning the fact that growth in broadband subscribers in North America is slowing. According to broadbandtrends.com, the number of North American broadband households reached 76.3 million recently, out of a total of about 135 million households. This represents about 56 percent of the total available market. Since it is mathematically impossible to exceed 100 percent (unless households start clamoring for multiple broadband connections, an argument I have yet to encounter), and in fact broadband penetration will likely plateau somewhere between 80 percent and 90 percent, it is inevitable that broadband growth would slow as the market becomes saturated. Why is anyone surprised by this?
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Posted by Sig Luft on 07-May-2008
Daunting challenges
Carriers face some pretty daunting challenges with respect to their capital-intensive networks. Once upon a time, the network defined the service and value proposition, be it voice, video, or data. Convergence promised carriers an opportunity to consolidate resources and pursue higher-revenue triple-play services. In general, such networks are defined by increased capacity for the delivery of video services. This extra capacity comes at significant cost to the carrier but with the promise of additional revenue. However, the fine print on the contract is that the carrier is not the only one who benefits from this capital investment. Over-the-top (OTT) service providers benefit tremendously from the increase in capacity to the subscriber. Increased bandwidth, together with compression technologies, shifts the value proposition away from the distribution channel (e.g., the carrier network) and into the hands of the content distributors, who are in a better position to attract content and a global customer base.
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Posted by Kevin Walsh on 29-Apr-2008
Well I'll be darned
Parenting teenagers has led me to the general conclusion that this age group has come to view all things related to the internet as free and instantly available. Since this view has prevailed for many years, it is therefore logical to assume that even 20-somethings in the workforce and paying their own bills would continue to view the internet, and all things available on the internet, in that manner. Imagine my surprise when a survey of U.S. consumers showed this not to be the case.
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Posted by Trevor Dyck on 24-Apr-2008
Is linear television over?
I was recently at a conference where I heard Accenture claim that 85 percent of video content consumed today is pre-recorded. I guess all those PVRs are getting put to good use. Things are more dramatic when you look at the under-35 age group – that demographic is less likely to say they’re satisfied with current television options, more likely to watch content on ‘alternative devices’ (I guess that means PCs or mobile phones), and more likely to be familiar with on-demand TV. In fact, the under-35 set prefers watching content on demand and is more willing to pay to download content.
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