ISPreview - Evolving ISP Networks & Internet TV
Evolving ISP Networks & Internet TV
By: Vincent Morin - Jan 2nd, 2008 : Page 1 -of- 3
"the UK had the best value triple play deal in 2006 when compared with similar packages in France, Germany, Italy and the US"

This article is an exclusive and has been written for ISPreview by Vincent Morin, a Senior Director (Systems Engineering) for Ciena EMEA. They are global leaders in communication network infrastructure and associated services, which are often supplied to ISP's. In this article Morin offers his views on the industry and how he believes UK ISP's should evolve their networks.

Today’s generation of young people are watching less analogue TV and spending more and more time on the internet, whether gaming, blogging or creating their own multimedia content.  The popularity of sites such as YouTube, Facebook and Second Life is testament to this shift in consumer behaviour and is a trend which looks set to evolve with future generations. New video-based services such as IPTV and VoD are also beginning to prove popular among consumers, with nearly five million IPTV subscribers in Europe according to Point Topic. 

Accordingly, ISP’s must shift their attention to focus on how best to deliver these new products and services to meet growing consumer demand in an increasingly competitive market.

Earlier this month, Ofcom’s international communications market report revealed that the UK had the best value triple play deal in 2006 when compared with similar packages in France, Germany, Italy and the US.  More than 40 per cent of UK households had bundles by March this year, up from 29% the previous year, largely driven by low pricing for packaged telephone, broadband and television deals.

As basic internet access becomes commoditised and traditional margins decrease, the pressure is on for ISPs to innovate and differentiate their service offerings. Service availability and quality are critical to the success or failure of new services and ISPs need to adapt their business models and network architectures accordingly.

To succeed, ISPs should consider building and controlling their own metro and regional transport network infrastructures in order to offer higher value-add services. Providers that own the aggregation, transport, and control access networks will be able to differentiate video-based services more easily while expanding market coverage quickly and cost-effectively. Local loop unbundling and cost/benefit improvements to networking infrastructure are already making this more feasible for many service providers.

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