US cable firms splash out on network upgrades

The increasing competitiveness of the US pay-TV market continues to drive cable TV operators to invest in their networks and roll out new services, experts report.

Research firm In-Stat noted that an impressive 90 per cent of US cable TV systems now offer HD video services.

"The introduction of telco TV services by companies such as Verizon and AT& T, coupled with stiff competition from satellite TV service providers, is forcing US cable TV operators to develop new revenue streams while trying to hang on to their existing video subscribers," said In-Stat analyst Mike Paxton.

A new In-Stat survey of 50 US cable companies found that 84 per cent of cable systems currently have at least 750MHz of available bandwidth.

With the exception of increasing the number of available 6MHz channels for HD video services, most cable systems plan to keep their channel allocations for video services relatively static over the next 12 months, the research noted.

In-Stat also found that the take-rate for cable modem service continues to grow. According to survey respondents, 42 per cent of their cable TV subscribers now subscribe to cable modem services.