Cable Telephony Users Up,
But VoIP Services Stalled

A high-tech research firms says cable telephony has a solid future because there is increasing consumer demand for cable voice services and decreasing deployment of VoIP services.

by ISP-Planet Staff [October 21, 2002]

In-Stat/MDR reports that cable TV operators around the globe are upgrading their hybrid fiber coaxial infrastructure. As a result, cable telephony services have become widely available in North America and Western Europe.

As of mid-year, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based research firms finds that there are almost 8 million cable telephony subscribers worldwide. In-Stat/MDR forecasts that worldwide cable telephony service revenues are expected to rise from $3 billion in 2002 to over $7.5 billion in 2006.

However, Mike Paxton, In-Stat/MDR senior analyst, said that cable telephony still faces some stiff challenges as operators continue to scale their voice services.

"Even with the modest success of cable telephony, the worldwide cable industry is in no position to rest on its laurels," Paxton said. "The industry is experiencing competitive threats from alternative telephony services, less-than-friendly regulatory environments, a global economic slow-down, and numerous marketing and technical hurdles that come with the introduction of voice services."

In the midst of these challenges, most cable operators in North America and Europe remain committed to adding cable telephony service to their existing service portfolios.

The report, VoIP Services Lag, But Cable Telephony Subscribers Continue to Increase, examines and updates cable telephony services provided by cable television operators in the U.S. and around the world. It covers market and industry drivers for cable telephony, examines network architectures, and discusses existing technology standards. Key findings include:

Cable operators like AT&T Broadband in the United States and NTL and Telewest in the UK already serve a million cable telephony subscribers each.

The first small-scale IP-based cable telephony services are expected to become available in North America and Europe in 2003.

The total number of worldwide cable telephony subscribers is forecasted to grow from 8.6 million at the end of 2002 to over 22 million by 2006.

In-Stat/MDR is part of the Reed Electronics Group, a division of Reed Elsevier, a leading publisher and information provider.

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