Cable operators turn to IP for next-gen services

Cable operators are moving towards Internet Protocol (IP) delivery as a means of offering their customers advanced interactive video services via cable modems, according to a new study from ABI Research.

However, the report warns that the change to IP will come at a cost: most of the customer premises equipment (CPE) provided by operators will have to be exchanged for IP-capable versions.

ABI principal analyst Michael Arden said: "Existing cable networks only allow quite basic video-on-demand services. They really can't handle high volumes of traffic and bandwidth demand, which limits the size of the content libraries that operators can offer. IP delivery not only moves a lot of the content that's clogging up the multicast network onto the IP network, but the greater bandwidth permits other advanced television services such as online shopping and viewer voting that create new revenue streams for operators."

Of the world's regions, North America and South Korea are, according to ABI, the two areas best placed, by virtue of their existing infrastructure and adoption of key DOCSIS standards, to make this transition to IP delivery.

“With the exception of a few set-top boxes and residential gateways that have built-in support for the current DOCSIS standard used for delivery through cable modems, most of the presently installed base of CPE will have to be replaced to support IP delivery. And when the new DOCSIS 3.0 standard is finalised, all CPE without exception will need replacement, at a cost of up to $1,000 per household,” ABI’s study, Worldwide Cable TV Infrastructure, CPE and Services, stated.

The analyst firm predicts that this replacement will create a “huge opportunity” for dominant CPE vendors Motorola and Scientific Atlanta. Operators are also expected to need new, larger servers and storage in order to handle the larger libraries and greater interactivity that IP-based delivery will allow.