| Cable Telephony Customers and Revenues to Skyrocket | ` |
| SCOTTSDALE,
Ariz.--May 22, 2000--Despite a relatively slow adoption rate, worldwide
revenues from cable telephony services will grow from a modest $293 million
in 1999 to over $7 billion by the year 2004, according to Cahners In-Stat
Group, a high-tech market research firm. In-Stat reports that the concept of competitive residential telephone services has interested cable TV operators for years and that although reliable telephony equipment for hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) networks has been commercially available, economic and operational barriers have limited service deployment. Specifically, shortages of capital and personnel, plus conflicts in the development of cable telephony standards have impeded the ability to offer voice services to cable TV subscribers. However, over the past year, voice services have increasingly been bundled with data and video services. Bundling has proven very attractive to consumers and cable operators are now eager to expand the availability of their telephony services. At the same time, In-Stat believes that there is a technology migration underway that will give a long-term boost to cable telephony. In the near future, cable telephony will migrate from traditional circuit-switched voice technology to Voice over IP (VoIP), which relies on packetized signals using Internet Protocol technology. According to Mike Paxton, Senior Analyst with In-Stat's Converging Markets & Technologies Service, "VoIP provides cable operators with two advantages in comparison to circuit-switched solutions: improved scalability and lower costs. These advantages will directly contribute to an increase in the availability of cable telephony services." In addition, Paxton added that, "cable operators who have upgraded their HFC infrastructure and developed a viable telephony architecture will be rewarded with strong, new revenue streams." A recent In-Stat report also found the following: -- The lion's share of cable telephony growth will occur in North America, where cable telephony revenues will reach $5.4 billion by 2004. -- The number of worldwide cable telephony subscribers will increase from less than one million in 1999 to over 20 million in the year 2004. While North America will comprise a large share of those subscribers, parts of Europe, Asia, and Latin America will also fuel the growth. -- The number of cable telephony lines will also increase substantially. By the end of this year, there will be an installed base of almost three million worldwide cable telephone lines. The report, Cable Telephony: Slowly but Surely covers issues surrounding the deployment of cable telephony service, including standards development, competing voice technologies, cable infrastructure and hardware, and telephony service challenges. In addition, it profiles leading cable telephony equipment vendors and cable operators offering voice services. The report also provides forecasts for worldwide cable telephony subscribers, the worldwide total installed cable telephony lines through the year 2004 and cable telephony service revenues for the next five years. About Cahners In-Group Cahners In-Stat Group covers the full spectrum of digital communications research from vendor to end-user, providing the analysis and perspective that allows technology vendors and service providers worldwide to make more informed business decisions. Website: http://www.instat.com) |
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