Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) has started the “all-digital” process in parts of its Boston- and Atlanta-area systems as the MSO continues to free up space for more HD networks and the speedier Docsis 3.0 cable modem platform. (See Comcast Sets Wideband Goal .)
The MSO says it’s already starting to migrate some analog channels to the digital domain in Winder, Ga., with plans to do the same in nearby North Fulton County in the next month or so, according to Comcast spokeswoman Alana Davis. The MSO will continue doing that in the Atlanta area on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis.
Comcast isn’t that far along yet in the Boston area, but it has started the “marination” process in Newburyport. In that early, preparatory phase, the MSO is proactively installing digital boxes and simpler, one-way digital terminal adapters (DTAs) during routine truck rolls before the market is “on the clock” for the analog-to-digital channel migration.
Marination is also underway in the MSO’s Philadelphia region. The initiative, dubbed internally as “Project Cavalry,” is already started or completed in the Bay Area; Portland and Salem, Ore.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; and Seattle and other parts of Washington. (See Comcast Sends In the All-Digital ‘Cavalry’ and Comcast ‘Cavalry’ Rides Into NoCal .)
A key goal of Cavalry is to move about 40 analog channels from the operator’s expanded basic programming tier to digital, while leaving its basic “B1″ tier (about 20 channels, depending on the market) in analog. In those markets, the MSO is giving each expanded basic customer two DTAs and one entry-level, interactive set-top (so it supports the MSO’s interactive program guide and video-on-demand apps) for no additional cost for as long as they remain Comcast customers. (See Comcast Seeds Digital Shift With Free Boxes.)
Comcast, responding to pressure from the likes of DirecTV Group Inc. (NYSE: DTV) and Dish Network Corp. (Nasdaq: DISH), is already starting to beef up its HD lineup using reclaimed analog spectrum capacity. In Salem and Eugene, for example, the MSO launched 30 new hi-def networks last month after it completed the digital migration there. In Chattanooga, meanwhile, the MSO is starting off by packing in 22 new hi-def channels and booting up a 50 Mbit/s (downstream) Docsis 3.0 service.
source: lightreading.com