WASHINGTON, DC - The cable industry reported solid increases in deployment of broadband services during second-quarter 2001, adding more than two million new digital customer units, a National Cable & Telecommunications Association study revealed today. According to figures from an NCTA member survey, the number of new cable modem, digital video, and cable telephony subscribers rapidly increased during the quarter ending June 30, 2001.
"Cable operators are continuing a very aggressive deployment of advanced digital services," said NCTA President & CEO Robert Sachs. "Digital video and cable modem service are now available to more than 65 million U.S. homes, and tens of thousands are signing up every week."
The nation’s major cable operators added 920,000 new high speed Internet cable modem subscribers -- more than 70,000 per week -- during the second quarter, bringing the number of cable modem customers in the U.S. to more than 5.5 million.
Cable gained 1.3 million new digital video customers during second-quarter 2001, bringing the nationwide digital video customer base to 12.2 million. (The industry averaged 100,000 new installations weekly.)
Cable also added more than 200,000 new residential telephone customers - some 15,000 installations per week - to reach approximately 1.3 million cable telephony subscribers.
Cable modem service enables users to travel the Internet at speeds 50 to 100 times faster than a standard dial-up service, and operates in an "always-on" capacity. Users can download information virtually instantaneously with state-of-the-art cable modems.
Digital video service provides increased channel capacity through compression of four to twelve digital video signals in the same 6MHz slot previously occupied by a single analog channel. As a result, customers are able to receive dozens of new programming services. Program networks have already launched some 60 new digital channels, offering consumers additional choice and further program diversity. Digital video also offers crystal-clear video images and CD-quality sound, plus on-screen menus and program guides as well as search capabilities, and expanded parental control.
Telephone service offered over digital cable lines features numerous advanced services, including voice mail, caller ID and call forwarding, often at rates markedly below local services prices charged by incumbent telephone operators. Discounts for cable telephony services range from 10-50 percent when compared with prices of telephone services offered by incumbent local exchange carriers.
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), formerly the National Cable Television Association, is the principal trade association of the cable television industry in the United States. NCTA represents cable operators serving more than 90 percent of the nation’s cable television households and more than 150 cable program networks, as well as equipment suppliers and providers of other services to the cable industry. In addition to offering traditional video services, NCTA's members also provide broadband services such as high-speed Internet access and telecommunications services such as local exchange telephone service to customers across the United States.
Visit us at www.ncta.com for the latest information about the cable industry, including: recent press releases; industry statistics; NCTA regulatory and court filings; cable’s commitment to customer service; quality programming; and education and technology initiatives.
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