This was a big week for broadband. The combined news of growth in HD, FTTH, Multimedia-over-Coax (MoCA) technology and DOCSIS 3.0 deployments shows just how important broadband infrastructure has become. Sure, the financial markets may knock things back a bit, but our growing dependence on broadband suggests that the industry isn’t likely to slow to a crawl. We have too much riding – literally – on our broadband pipes.
More DOCSIS 3.0
Comcast made a big splash this week by extending its DOCSIS 3.0 deployments into Boston and Philadelphia. With the technology comes a new tier of service: 50 Mbps downstream and 10 Mbps upstream.
More HD
According to research firm iSuppli, shipments of HDTVs shot past shipments of standard-def televisions in 2008. The forecast is for HDTV shipments to increase to 241.2 million by 2012.
More MoCA
Broadcom is getting in on the MoCA game with integration of the technology into its latest modem, router and set-top chipsets. Verizon currently uses MoCA for its multi-room DVR service. Will more operators finally start offering in-home TV networking? Broadcom seems to be betting on it.
More Fiber
Fiber is growing as a share of broadband access technologies around the world, according to the latest report from the OECD (via GigaOM). Both Japan and Korea have more fiber-based broadband connections than anything else, 45% and 39% respectively. In the US, 3% of connections are fiber-to-the-home.
source: connectedhome2go.com
Every once in a while I find it useful to do a status check of Internet speed tiers. With that in mind, here’s a look at what major operators across the US are promoting, along with a nod to a few noteworthy international players.
Cox Communications: Currently has a premier speed tier with 15 Mbps downstream (20 Mbps with PowerBoost), but has upgraded many of its systems to 1GHz, giving it room for speed increases
Comcast: Launched DOCSIS 3.0-based “Extreme Tier” last year with 50 Mbps downstream and 10Mbps upstream, and plans to have 65% of markets upgraded to DOCSIS 3.0 by the end of 2009
Charter: Broke the US speed tier record with announcement of new 60 Mbps downstream service
Verizon: Introduced FTTH-based high-speed tier across its entire customer footprint with 50 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream
Time Warner Cable: Offers 20 Mbps downstream in some places, but has not yet clarified timing on DOCSIS 3.0 rollouts
Cablevision: Currently has a speed tier with 30 Mbps downstream and 5 Mbps upstream, but has imminent plans to introduce DOCSIS 3.0-enabled services
source: connectedhome2go.com