Editorial: Cutting the cable cord is a young trend going in the right direction

Editorial Cutting the cable cord is a young trend going in the right direction

This week I bought a Roku. Late to the party? Yes, but not as late as you might suppose. Roku has sold about 2.5 million streaming media boxes since the product launched in 2008. Approximately 1.5 million of those units moved in 2011, indicating an acceleration of demand. Coincidentally, those numbers roughly represent the cord-cutting movement: Reportedly, 2.65 million cable subscribers ditched their service between 2008 and 2011, with about 1.5 million of those defections happening in 2011.

While cable cord-cutting is a trend, the movement is occurring in the context of customer inertia. About 100 million customers subscribe to cable, satellite, and other pay-TV providers (e.g. AT&T’s U-Verse). The problematic value proposition of cutting the cord will probably keep massive inaction in place for the short term, but cannot, I believe, withstand long-term marketplace demands.

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Editorial: Cutting the cable cord is a young trend going in the right direction originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Aug 2012 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BT kicks off 330Mbps ‘FTTP on Demand’ trials, reveals pilot locations

BT kicks off 330Mbps 'FTTP on Demand' trials, reveals pilot locations

Not everyone is apparently in love with British operator BT’s green boxes. Still, that isn’t stopping the company from serving up its high-fiber diet to those who want to have speedy Internet connections. For its latest project, BT’s Openreach division has started offering an “FTTP on Demand” program that provides fiber-to-the-premises at 330Mbps speeds to folks or businesses who order the service. The project will be done in phases at eight locations, starting with High Wycombe, Bristol South and St Agnes, Cornwall in July. Next up is Edinburgh’s Waverley exchange in September followed by Watford, Cardiff, Basingstoke and Manchester Central in 2013. Communications providers can decide to cover installation costs by absorbing a one-off charge, having higher monthly fees or passing the whole thing to the consumer. Want to gobble up more info about BT’s latest fiber-filled broadband service? Then check out the good, old PR after the break.

Continue reading BT kicks off 330Mbps ‘FTTP on Demand’ trials, reveals pilot locations

BT kicks off 330Mbps ‘FTTP on Demand’ trials, reveals pilot locations originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 06:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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