New Interactive Services Lead Cable's 2004 Activity to Date
95 Million Homes now have Access to Advanced Services
Washington, D.C . – With advanced broadband technology now available to an estimated 95 million U.S. homes, the cable industry's wide-scale deployment of interactive consumer-friendly services continued at a rapid pace during the first half of 2004, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) said today in releasing its 2004 Mid-Year Industry Overview.
NCTA reports that, in addition to offering basic and digital cable services, cable operators in many communities are now offering consumers new interactive TV services such as Video-On-Demand (VOD) and Digital Video Recorders (DVR) in addition to high-speed Internet service, High-Definition TV (HDTV) and local telephone service.
Cable operators have invested $85 billion since 1996 – or $1,200 per customer – to upgrade networks with fiber-optic broadband technology that provides a platform for the delivery of multiple interactive services, NCTA said. The 95 million homes that have access to cable's advanced services represent 88 percent of total homes passed by a local cable system.
“With a major infrastructure upgrade during the past eight years, cable operators have demonstrated their commitment to meet consumer demand for these exciting new interactive services,” said Robert Sachs, NCTA President & CEO. “Cable operators are now offering consumers a variety of products that can meet their information, entertainment and communications needs.”
Consumer demand for cable's new products remains strong with 22.9 million digital cable, 17.3 million high-speed Internet and 2.7 million cable telephone subscribers as of the end of the First Quarter. NCTA says that growth in local telephone subscribers is expected to grow steadily this year and next as several cable operators are actively testing or deploying Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone service, which connects calls through Internet technology by using data packets to transmit voice signals.
The cable industry further demonstrated its strong commitment to completing the digital TV transition during the first half of 2004 by continuing its nationwide deployment of HDTV, NCTA said. As of the end of the First Quarter, 84 million U.S. homes could receive a package of HD channels from their local cable operator while the amount of cable HDTV programming has increased steadily.
July 1 marked another important milestone in the digital TV transition as cable operators nationwide began providing CableCARDs to consumers who purchase new Digital Cable Ready television equipment. The new CableCARDs, which are a by-product of a 2002 landmark agreement between the cable and consumer electronics industries, allow consumers to receive one-way digital cable services without the need for a set-top box.
On the public policy front during the first half of 2004, in an effort to address concerns regarding the content of some television programming, the cable industry launched a comprehensive consumer awareness campaign to provide parents with the choice, control and education to make responsible viewing decisions. Elements of Cable Puts You in Control include a commitment from cable operators to provide free channel blocking technology, a reaffirmation by cable networks to use the TV parental guidelines ratings system, and several consumer awareness and media literacy efforts.
Another public policy issue facing the cable industry through the first half of 2004 has been the suggestion that the government should regulate cable pricing and packaging to allow customers to select channels on an “a la carte” basis. At the request of Congress, the Federal Communications Commission has launched a study of the impact of an a la carte model and is expected to report its findings in the fall.
In addition to the delivery of new services, the 2004 Mid-Year Industry Overview highlights the positive impact that cable operators continue to make in their community through education programs sponsored by Cable in the Classroom and local and regional programming partnerships that provide coverage of state and local events.
A copy of the 2004 Mid-Year Industry Overview can be downloaded from the NCTA Web site, at www.ncta.com, or can be obtained by contacting the NCTA Communications & Public Affairs Department, by phone at 202/775-3629, or by email at [email protected] .
NCTA 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 200 cable program networks, as well as equipment suppliers and providers of other services to the cable industry .
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