It might be taking heat from investors for FiOS, but it is starting to look like access bandwidth could be a real strategic advantage. And the reason is what their cable competitors now are thinking. To wit, cable operators are drawing up plans to deal with what appears to be exploding user demand. They will look at the usual methods for doing so: subdividing fiber nodes, using switched digital video, channel bonding, using more complex modulation techniques, using non-traditional frequency plans and adding raw bandwidth. They even will look at building fiber-to-the-home networks and adopting PON architecture.
Which makes Verizon's FTTH plans look like the right strategic approach.
"We know there's a need for more bandwidth," says Bob McIntyre, CTO of Scientific Atlanta . "We just have to decide how to do it."
"Bandwidth consumption is definitely increasing, and the average consumption rate is definitely increasing," says Patrick Knorr, Sunflower Broadband CEO. "There's definitely a storm coming." The new bandwidth crunch is at least partly caused by a surge in high-definition TV viewing.
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