[opendtv] Re: SBC Joins the Convergence Crowd

  • From: "Ralph P. Manfredo" <rmanfredo@xxxxxxxx>
  • To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2005 19:26:19 -0800

Craig:

What I was answering was the question of when the RBOCs will really start
offering video services instead of the halfhearted attempts they currently
have been doing.  I believe we will see the RBOCs as providing the
infrastructure (the pipe so to speak) and ISPs providing 'Triple Play'
services.  The key here is phone lines just about terminate in front of
almost all buildings in the U.S. with the exception of backwoods facilities,
where cable still only covers metro and suburban areas and not rural areas.
That is where the RBOCs and independents have their strength and could be
real competitors to the cable companies.  However, I do not believe the
RBOCs will seize on the moment.  I believe we will see the RBOCs as
providing the infrastructure (the pipe so to speak) and ISPs providing
'Triple Play' services.  That is what is happening in the international
world.  The big push is for 'Triple Play' services, VoIP, Internet Services
and Video Services.  This is currently happening in Asia, Latin America and
Eastern Europe.  My question has been for the last 10 years is why not here?
We exhibited that capability back in 1996, and the Telcos still have not
done anything with this capability.  Granted, VoIP was not used, current
digital voice was what was demonstrated using NUKO and later BBNC products
to provide the video services to the VDSL network.  A good example is the
RBOC lack of drive to bring these new and exciting services to the avg.
consumer is DSL services.  Here I am in Silicon Valley, the heart of most
DSL technology and I did not get DSL service until 2001, and that was from
DirecTV.  Even though DirecTV was using SBC lines, SBC did not offer me the
service until DirecTV decided to get out of the business.  To me, that was
ridiculous.

Ralph

Ralph P. Manfredo
President & CEO

rmanfredo@xxxxxxxx

************************************************************************
BroadBand Networks Corporation
2530 Berryessa Road, No. 237
San Jose, CA 95132

Phone:  408.988.2060
Fax:       408.988.2188

www.bbnc.com

Leaders in MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 video over ATM and IP Networks
************************************************************************
-----Original Message-----
From: opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Craig Birkmaier
Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2005 5:25 PM
To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [opendtv] Re: SBC Joins the Convergence Crowd

At 2:30 PM -0800 1/4/05, Ralph P. Manfredo wrote:
>There are two reasons for the numerous attempts by both Pacific Bell and
>SBC's failure to get into the video delivery business.
>
>1.  Management is dial tone oriented, and thus they are afraid to provide
>non-dial tone service because they might fail and loose their jobs
>
>2.  They have shareholders who are only interested in profit, so management
>is unwilling to spend the money to get into the video delivery business
>because of the cost which will affect the bottom line.
>
>Until RBOC management gets some intestinal fortitude, they will always be
>bungling a video delivery solution.  They will wake up when the cable
>companies start getting aggressive on offering dial tone to their
customers.
>Who knows, we may see the end of the RBOCs when that happens, and it will
be
>their own fault.

Or there could be another scenario...

What if it is the tight coupling of content and carriage that is in 
danger of extinction?

The telcos have always done best selling bandwidth, not the content 
that is carried.

What if content owners are able to bypass all of their existing 
distribution "partners" and simply deliver products to consumers via 
IP networks. In other words, the consumer just pays for bandwidth, 
and they buy content in an open marketplace, not unlike the Internet?

What if the dark fiber that terminates in front of my house suddenly 
becomes an "all you can drink bit pipe" for say $50/month?

Regards
Craig





 
 
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