No Author (6.12.2007)
http://www.teleclick.ca/2007/06/embarq-keeps-an-eye-out-for-rural-telecom-acquisition-targets/
Embarq looking to advance their competitive position
Regional telephone provider, Embarq Corp., is positioning itself to acquire smaller competitors in the months and years to come, as the telecommunications sector continues to consolidate.
Buying up small rural phone carriers would help Embarq to slash costs and increase efficiency, said the company’s CEO, Daniel Hesse, in an interview late last week.
“Today you have roughly 800 local exchange carriers in the U.S., and we’re competing with much larger competitors — the wireless companies, the cable companies,” Hesse said. He acknowledging, however, that Embarq had yet to find any specific deals where cost benefits outweighed the likely premiums.
“We’re very well positioned to be an acquirer,” he explained, “but in today’s market, a lot of the prices are too high. And we have a very disciplined approach to looking at acquisitions.”
Embarq — which was spun off by wireless giant, Sprint Nextel in May 2006 — has experienced significant growth in the past year, with its stock price rising over 20% since debuting on the market. Hesse believes that a further increase in value could help his company put together an attractive acquisition proposal.
“The stock has moved up a lot in the past year, not only in absolute terms but relative to the industry. If we continue to perform that well, then all of a sudden our equity can become a currency,” the CEO said, referring to the possibility of an all-stock deal.
Embarq offers local, long distance, and broadband internet services in 18 states, primarily in rural areas, and faces strong competition from major cable and wireless providers.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Telcos Enter The Video Village
Sean Buckley (5. 29. 07)
http://www.telecommagazine.com/newsglobe/article.asp?HH_ID=AR_3210
Success Is Predicated On Consistent User Experience
Whether the video signal comes into the home over fiber, DSL, or hybrid coax/fiber, video delivery poses a number of technical and business challenges for telcos entering the video village.
One independent service provider perhaps summed up the challenge of delivering IPTV the best during last year’s TelcoTV conference: “Video is hard; it’s very hard and the first six months are terrible,” said Mike Knoll, CTO for Greenfield, Ind-based Hancock Telephone (see Hancock Telephone Takes on Video).
Hancock Telephone’s experience is far unusual. For one, the telco not only faces the challenge of delivering a better service than cable, but they also have to deal with acquiring content and building a profitable video service. On the technical side, the challenges are just as fierce. Telcos are faced with a dizzying array of network technologies to integrate, in addition to a diversity of home wiring environments to deliver video in a home and ensuring proper quality of experience (QoE).
Still, with cable operators eating away at the service providers’ cash cow voice service revenues, telcos are moving fast on the IPTV challenge.
In the U.S., all eyes are upon the two largest carriers’ IPTV efforts: AT&T and Verizon. Taking a walk before they run approach to IPTV, Verizon—clearly one of the most aggressive FTTP (fiber to the premise) advocates—is using an RF overlay architecture for its FiOS TV service, while putting in place the hooks to get to IPTV when ready.
Thus far, Verizon’s bet is paying off. In Q1 07, Verizon added 141,000 new FiOS customers. Ok, so an RF overlay might not be as exciting as IPTV, it does give Verizon a running start.
While AT&T has taken on more of a conservative approach to its access network choice--using FTTC/FTTN with VDSL2 bonding in existing markets and FTTP in Greenfield builds--Ma Bell plans to have the service available in 30 additional markets by the end of this year.
IPTV is not just for the big boys, though. Along with Hancock Telephone, VA-based NTELOS, an integrated ICP that’s using GPON-based FTTP, will launch its IPTV service later this year. While NTELOS might not be the size of an AT&T, the threat of Comcast coming into their RLEC territories drove it to move to launch new services such as IPTV and SIP-based voice services (see NTELOS’ Common Service Platform). If one thing’s for sure, the consumer appetite for TV is insatiable and users won’t tolerate any service degradation. At a time when the cable operators are set on delivering a quad play service package, not to mention IP-based video, a new telco video customer could become a former customer if they can’t deliver a consistent user experience.
http://www.telecommagazine.com/newsglobe/article.asp?HH_ID=AR_3210
Success Is Predicated On Consistent User Experience
While IPTV is certainly a compelling method to deliver a full set of interactive content services to end users, the market is still relatively nascent. According to Infonetics Research, there were only 7 million IPTV subscribers worldwide in 2006, but that number is growing quickly and will jump to nearly 48 million by 2010, says the analyst firm.
Whether the video signal comes into the home over fiber, DSL, or hybrid coax/fiber, video delivery poses a number of technical and business challenges for telcos entering the video village.
One independent service provider perhaps summed up the challenge of delivering IPTV the best during last year’s TelcoTV conference: “Video is hard; it’s very hard and the first six months are terrible,” said Mike Knoll, CTO for Greenfield, Ind-based Hancock Telephone (see Hancock Telephone Takes on Video).
Hancock Telephone’s experience is far unusual. For one, the telco not only faces the challenge of delivering a better service than cable, but they also have to deal with acquiring content and building a profitable video service. On the technical side, the challenges are just as fierce. Telcos are faced with a dizzying array of network technologies to integrate, in addition to a diversity of home wiring environments to deliver video in a home and ensuring proper quality of experience (QoE).
Still, with cable operators eating away at the service providers’ cash cow voice service revenues, telcos are moving fast on the IPTV challenge.
In the U.S., all eyes are upon the two largest carriers’ IPTV efforts: AT&T and Verizon. Taking a walk before they run approach to IPTV, Verizon—clearly one of the most aggressive FTTP (fiber to the premise) advocates—is using an RF overlay architecture for its FiOS TV service, while putting in place the hooks to get to IPTV when ready.
Thus far, Verizon’s bet is paying off. In Q1 07, Verizon added 141,000 new FiOS customers. Ok, so an RF overlay might not be as exciting as IPTV, it does give Verizon a running start.
While AT&T has taken on more of a conservative approach to its access network choice--using FTTC/FTTN with VDSL2 bonding in existing markets and FTTP in Greenfield builds--Ma Bell plans to have the service available in 30 additional markets by the end of this year.
IPTV is not just for the big boys, though. Along with Hancock Telephone, VA-based NTELOS, an integrated ICP that’s using GPON-based FTTP, will launch its IPTV service later this year. While NTELOS might not be the size of an AT&T, the threat of Comcast coming into their RLEC territories drove it to move to launch new services such as IPTV and SIP-based voice services (see NTELOS’ Common Service Platform). If one thing’s for sure, the consumer appetite for TV is insatiable and users won’t tolerate any service degradation. At a time when the cable operators are set on delivering a quad play service package, not to mention IP-based video, a new telco video customer could become a former customer if they can’t deliver a consistent user experience.
Broadband Subscriber Base to Double by 2011
Broadband subscribers to double over the next 5 years.
The number of broadband subscribers worldwide will nearly double over the next five years to more than half a billion, according to research analysis firm In-Stat.
About 65 million new subscribers signed up in the past 12 months, bringing the total to 285 million, In-Stat said. By 2011, the total will be 567 million.
By that time, 58% of all broadband connections will be delivered via DSL, In-Stat said. Nearly 10% will be delivered via fiber-to-the-home.
Today, however, about 92% of broadband connections come through either DSL or cable.
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