Reference the trade publication Light Reading pretty frequently on this blog, but it’s rare that I get access to paid reports from the companion analyst firm Heavy Reading. Luckily someone thought to send me a copy of a report that Motorola commissioned recently on DOCSIS 3.0. I then got in touch with the author, Senior Analyst Alan Breznick, and pried a direct quote out of him as well. (Okay, he was perfectly willing. No prying required.) According to Breznick:
Cable operators in North America, Europe and Asia are now stepping up the pace of Docsis 3.0 rollouts in response to stiffer telco competition. In North America alone, we predict that Docsis 3.0-enabled plant will pass 14 million homes by the end of this year and 35 million homes by the close of 2009.
Despite grumblings that Internet speeds aren’t increasing fast enough, the cable industry is making progress. And it’s not just one or two operators. The large majority of operators surveyed in the Heavy Reading study are upgrading now or in the very near future to support DOCSIS 3.0. The study encompassed more than 50 cable providers, half based in the US, and half spread across the rest of the globe. Here are some noteworthy excerpts from the report:
Slightly more than two thirds of cable operators have either started upgrading their plant for DOCSIS 3.0 or plan to start doing so over the next 12 to 15 months.
Although most MSOs are firmly committed to deploying DOCSIS 3.0 on their existing HFC networks, they have also considered several alternative technologies and architectures. Nearly half, 48% of respondents have looked at GPON, an FTTH technology.
An overwhelming 69% of survey participants ranked broadband data modems highest on the importance scale of DOCSIS 3.0 CPE. Cable set-tops ranked second.
Top five reasons for deploying DOCSIS 3.0:
Faster residential broadband service
More broadband speed tiers
Business services
New broadband services, such as home security
Cellular backhaul