Today's Top Stories
1. IHS: 9.6 million multimedia home gateways to ship by 2016
2. TiVo introduces TiVo Mini for whole-home viewing space
3. Google Fiber adds 3D to Kansas City lineup
4. CenturyLink hiring for IPTV service in Phoenix
5. Maturing Asian markets to drive IPTV growth Editor's Corner: Home gateways will help MVPDs rule the consumer roost Also Noted: Qualcomm
Spotlight On... SureWest asset consolidation driving Consolidated Communications
Set-tops not going away for Cisco; home media platforms to save pay TV business and much more... Industry Voices: Is there a business case for telecom service provider IT infrastructure services?  On the surface, cloud or IT infrastructure service initiatives appear to be attractive offerings for telecom service providers, but are they? Cloud or Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) explicitly involves network services and hosting/IT infrastructure services. However, telecom operators have been slow to adopt these new services. Read more from Michael Kennedy here
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| This week's sponsor is CounterPath. |  | eBook: Minimizing the OTT Threat This eBook from FierceWireless will provide an in-depth look at the threat from OTT providers, and examine how operators are making progress in delivering content to their customers. Download for free today. |
Home gateways will help MVPDs rule the consumer roost
Once seated in their easy chairs, people tend to get very lazy.
For pay TV operators--and for those who purchase their products--this is not a bad thing. Under the right circumstances, being lazy and zoning out at the end of a stressful day filled with too many distractions, too many devices and too many voices coming from too many directions is probably a healthy thing to do--as long as you snack on carrots and not potato chips. The trick is to make this possible. For the traditional pay TV provider, that means accomplishing three things: providing easy-to-use technology; making it reliable; and, under most circumstances, trying hard not to gouge with the price. When all three pieces form under a residential roof, the pay TV provider moves into the catbird's seat. The problem has always been that multichannel video programming distributors, or MVPDs as we in the trade like to call them, have never put together all three pieces at once. For instance, there has never been anything particularly convenient about set-top boxes, which most subscribers view as slightly less desirable than politicians in an election year. And, of course, there's the reliability factor, as anyone with a Wi-Fi home network knows. Finally, what can be said about pay TV prices that hasn't already been beaten more soundly than the Syracuse Orangemen? Continued here  Read more
Read more about: Smart TVs, MHGs
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Today's Top News 1. IHS: 9.6 million multimedia home gateways to ship by 2016
While it is probably too early to sound the ever-waiting death knell for the traditional set-top box, the next big piece of consumer premises equipment is about to explode, according to research from IHS that predicts multimedia home gateway (MHG) global shipments will rise by a factor of more than 100 from 2011 to 2016. According to IHS, global MHG shipments will hit 9.6 million units in 2015 and 2016. That compares to just 90,000 that were shipped in 2011. "A decade ago, set-top boxes (STBs) served as the bridge from analog to digital broadcasting. Today, MHGs are playing a similar role, acting as the bridge between broadcast and Internet Protocol (IP) video distribution," said Daniel Simmons, senior principal analyst at IHS and lead author of the report, "Multimedia Home Gateways: the Future of the Digital Home." Demand will be driven by the fact that MHGs help pay TV service providers "utilize the efficiency of broadcast television to provide advanced services and content to all kinds of IP-connectable devices, including today's increasingly popular mobile devices," Simmons continued. MHGs will supplant set-tops because they are basically more flexible when it comes to receiving and delivering IP content throughout a residence--and they offer multiple ways to do it, although Wi-Fi is the primary method, the researchers said. "Beyond Wi-Fi, some of the major services include gigabit broadband, transcoding, large applications, graphics processors, content storage and edge caching," added Stephen Froehlich, principal analyst for IHS and a co-author of the report. Importantly, he said, MHGs are good business for traditional set-top makers who are looking at dwindling demand for their legacy products. "The hardware and software requirements for each MHG are quite different from one operator to the next, making MHGs a profitable point-of-value creation for STB manufacturers and their suppliers for the foreseeable future," Froehlich added. And, for pay TV service providers, they offer an answer to over-the-top competition and a means of keeping subscribers glued to their services by not only moving video throughout the home but also facilitating other add-on services. "Home automation and security, as well as smart energy and e-health services, all could be supported by the MHG and offer additional revenue opportunities," Simmons concluded. For more:
- IHS issued this press release Related articles:
Pace continues to bounce back from disastrous year
Video gateways - Top cable technologies in 2013
Time Warner Cable to deploy 'souped up DVR' in second half of 2013 Read more about: IHS, MHGs
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2. TiVo introduces TiVo Mini for whole-home viewing space
Recognizing that its customers want more than single-device connectivity, TiVo (Nasdaq: TIVO) has entered into the whole-home viewing space with the TiVo Mini, a product described in a press release as "an all-purpose companion device that allows TiVo users to access apps and affordably extend the viewing of live TV, recorded and streaming content, as well as on-demand programming, to rooms throughout their homes without an additional TiVo DVR." "The TiVo Mini answers the demand for a simplified whole-home viewing experience and a more cost-effective solution than putting another DVR or cable set-top box in another room," Jim Denney, general manager and vice president of product marketing for TiVo, said in the press release. "With so many viewing options in a compact form factor, TiVo Mini makes it easier to get more value from your existing home entertainment set up by further enabling you to watch what you want, where you want it." TiVo emphasized that the Mini is not a DVR. Rather, the press release said, the unit extends the value of the existing TiVo DVR by letting subscribers use one of the four available tuners to control and access content on a TV in another room of the house, including scheduling recordings and searches and starting a show in one room and finishing it in another. The device is called a Mini because it's just six inches long and over an inch wide. It requires a subscriber to already have a four-tuner TiVo DVR and pay an additional $5.99 for a 12-month subscription on top of a $99.99 upfront payment. Those who want lifetime service can purchase the product for $249.98, TiVo said. "TiVo Mini's minimalist design streamlines the entertainment center in additional rooms of the home and offers access to integrated apps, including YouTube, Hulu Plus, Pandora, and Spotify, with more apps planned," the company's press release concluded. For more:
-TiVo issued this press release Related articles:
TiVo charging retail customers $4.99 monthly service fees for Mini set-tops
TiVo building TV Everywhere portal for cable MSO Read more about: TiVo, DVR
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3. Google Fiber adds 3D to Kansas City lineup
Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) keeps finding things to do with all the bandwidth it has available on its Google Fiber network in Kansas City. The latest offering, 3DTV, will help Google Fiber keep pace with offers already on the market from competitive video plays offered by telcos AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ). Google Fiber subscribers will have access to two packages of 3D programming: 3net, which is already available to existing customers, and ESPN3D, which requires a phone call to the operator and an additional $5 per month subscription fee. Google, in its pitch for the service, said "the amazing capacity of fiber" makes the offers possible. 3net, according to a story in The Next Web, is offering an "extensive library" of original 3D programming, while ESPN3D is the "industry's first 24/7 3D sports network." In either case, even if the programming is there, the audience will probably be somewhat lacking due to the slow adoption of 3DTV and the need to wear bulky 3D glasses even when you have a 3D television. Of course, with all that bandwidth, Google can afford to be magnanimous in what it offers to a small audience. Other IPTV players, such as AT&T with its limited fiber-to-the-node U-verse architecture, and even bandwidth-rich Verizon, with its fiber-to-the-home FiOS offering, can't afford to be quite so generous, although both are in the 3D game. AT&T offers "several 3D titles in our U-verse Movies library today" for rental prices of $2 to $7, an AT&T spokeswoman told FierceIPTV in an e-mail. Thanks to a new carriage agreement with Disney, U-verse will also soon add ESPN3D to its lineup. FiOS, for now, doesn't have a 3D package per se, but "we do offer a variety of 3D programming," a Verizon spokesman wrote in an e-mail. "ESPN3D is the only linear TV channel and that's available to all customers who subscribe to the Ultimate HD package," she noted. As with AT&T, FiOS VOD features 3D programming. For more:
- The Next Web had this story Related articles:
Google Fiber TV undercuts Time Warner Cable pricing on ESPN 3D
Verizon's Shammo: 50 Mbps is FiOS' sweet speed spot Read more about: Verizon FiOS, Google Fiber
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4. CenturyLink hiring for IPTV service in Phoenix
CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) is ramping up its Prism TV IPTV launch in the Phoenix market--where it competes with incumbent cable operator Cox Communications--and is hiring 90 field technicians to make it happen. The techs are needed to help with troubleshooting and solving technical problems that are expected to accelerate over the next two years as the carrier expands the service throughout the greater Phoenix market, Ken McMahon, vice president and general manager for CenturyLink in Phoenix, told the Arizona Business Journal. Right now, only Chandler and Gilbert, Ariz., residents have access to the IPTV service, called Prism TV, but CenturyLink has other plans and needs more people to make them happen. "CenturyLink has made a significant investment in the area to upgrade our core network, data switches and components to bring Arizonans an exciting alternative service," McMahon said in a statement carried by the newspaper. "As a result of this investment in Arizona, we are pleased to announce that we will be hiring up to 90 technicians for Prism TV installation positions." The jobs, McMahon added, "offer great pay, benefits and career opportunities." For more:
- the Arizona Business Journal had this story Related articles:
CenturyLink adds 10,000 IPTV subscribers in fourth quarter
CenturyLink to 'soft launch' Prism TV in Phoenix next year Read more about: CenturyLink, IPTV
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5. Maturing Asian markets to drive IPTV growth
Maturing Asian markets, particularly in China and Korea, are driving the worldwide growth of IPTV, Multimedia Research Group (MRG) posits in a new report, "IPTV Global Forecast Through 2016." According to the report, China now has the most IPTV subscribers, and that trend is expected to continue. The fastest growth, however, will happen in emerging markets like Latin America and the Middle East/Africa, "which today have relatively few IPTV services, but hold great promise in the future," a report abstract said. The biggest hurdle for these countries is government interference. "Some countries in these regions are still navigating through government regulations that prohibit telcos from offering TV services or limit foreign investment in pay TV services," the abstract continued. There is hope for IPTV growth in these areas, though, since Brazil and India, as leading examples, "have managed to eliminate these issues through legislation" and opened the door to IPTV services. There's a good financial reason why these countries and the companies operating within them want to pursue IPTV. The report's revenue forecast predicts growth from $29 billion to $56.8 billion between 2012 and 2016. For more:
- MRG provided this report abstract Related articles:
Motorola set-tops ranked tops for IPTV, MRG Research says
IPTV growth strong, more likely as U.S. subscriber additions continue apace Read more about: MRG, Asian IPTV markets
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Also Noted | This week's sponsor is Qualcomm. |  | Webinar: Wi-Fi Evolution and its role in the future of wireless
Wednesday, April 3rd, 1pm ET /10am PT Tune-in to this webinar to learn more about Wi-Fi evolution, its critical role in addressing the looming 1000x data challenge, enabling smart connected homes, and exciting new frontiers it is poised to explore. Register Today! |
SPOTLIGHT ON... SureWest asset consolidation driving Consolidated Communications Consolidated Communications (Nasdaq: CNSL) is actually becoming a more consolidated company as it blends the consumer, commercial and wholesale business units it acquired when it purchased SureWest last July. It is a process Consolidated COO Bob Udell sees as a key part of advancing the company's strategy of levering its common assets across customer groups and accelerating growth in key markets. Udell explains that, and more, to FierceTelecom's Sean Buckley, as detailed in this hot seat interview. More IPTV news from around the World Wide Web... > Cisco is "very committed to the set-top business," a company executive made clear at Cable Congress. Story > Powerful home media platforms and weaknesses in the smart TV consumer proposition will allow the pay TV business to thrive in the next decade, according to research from U.K. multimedia consultancy Decipher. Story > Verizon FiOS subscribers with older boxes will need to change them out (for free) to get some HD channels starting April 15. Story > Altech Multimedia and Digiturk Aare planning to launch a next-generation hybrid set-top box for evolving markets in Turkey and beyond. Story > The growth of Dutch digital TV, now reportedly in 81 percent of all TV homes, is being credited to "competitors of cable operators, particularly through IPTV over copper and fiber." Story > The National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting reports that there were "around 80" operators providing IPTV services without a legal permit as of late February 2013. Story > Teleste is discontinuing its IPTV middleware offer to focus on partnerships with other manufacturers. Story Cable News > Several cable vendors took the wraps off of new multiscreen technology products at the CableLabs Winter Conference, which kicked off Sunday in Orlando, Fla. Full article And finally… Andorra Telecom has launched VOD service using Broadpeak's CDN technologies and Viaccess-Orca's service delivery platform. Press release News From the Fierce Network:
> Lowenstein's View: Will wireless compete with broadband? Post > Wi-Fi Evolution and its role in the future of wireless - Wednesday, April 3rd, 1pm ET / 10am PT Tune-in to this webinar to learn more about Wi-Fi evolution, its critical role in addressing the looming 1000x data challenge, enabling smart connected homes, and exciting new frontiers it is poised to explore. Register Today!
| > Don?t Miss an Exclusive Executive Breakfast at the 2013 NAB Show! - April 9 - Las Vegas, NV Executives from Discovery Communications, Comcast Media Center, and more explore the impact that the battle for multiscreen viewers is having on content owners, broadcasters, cable operators, and over-the-top video players. Join FierceCable Editor Steve Donohue for this exclusive breakfast event at the NAB Show, April 9th, in Las Vegas. Sponsored by Comcast Media Center and Irdeto. REGISTER TODAY. > Competitive Carriers Global Expo - April 17-19 - New Orleans CCA is the premier trade show and conference for the competitive mobile ecosystem and brings together decision-makers for networking, learning and sharing best practices. CCA is the nation's leading association for competitive wireless providers. To register www.ccaevents.org. > Fierce Innovation Awards 2012 Live Announcement of this Year's Winners - Now Available On-Demand Please join Jason Nelson, Publisher of FierceWireless, FierceTelecom, and FierceCable as we announce the winners of the Fierce Innovation Awards 2012. Click here to RSVP today.
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