Estimated reading time - 4 min
Throughout 2017 and 2018, the cable industry’s major players have been rolling out new technologies and services across the entire ecosystem; and with new offerings like AR and VR just around the corner, the Cable marketplace is heating up.
Listen to “Eric Rutter Describes Key Trends in the Cable Environment in North America for 2018 And Beyond”
When it comes to cable media and entertainment, one thing never changes: consumers want more content than ever before, and suppliers are working hard to meet that demand. While subscribers continue to explore – and exercise – their options on how they access video services by cord cutting, demand for cable broadband is on the rise, says Eric Rutter, President of North American Cable for Technicolor, known as Vantiva, in a podcast interview for journalists.
“It is true that we have seen some downward pressure on pricing for the traditional video services marketplace offered by the major cable providers…that is largely being offset by a greater demand for broadband, which the cable industry is now very well able to address with the availability of DOCSIS 3.1 technology,” says Rutter.
Every player in the North American cable market is looking to engage with — and grow — their audience in today’s hotly contested connected home market. In the mature North American market, that growth in share of audience has to come at the expense of another network service provider.
So, how is Technicolor working with cable companies to support the industry as a Customer Premise Equipment supplier? Technicolor is becoming a true partner in defining the services and solutions that will captivate those audiences now and in the future.
“First off, Technicolor has developed a very customer-centric engagement model that tailors solutions to the specific strategies of our cable operator clients,” Rutter explains. “The solutions we recommend are aligned with their needs and the requirements of their product set.”
This is requiring Technicolor to improve its time-to-market metrics by streamlining its product development cycle.
“We’re currently seeing this strategy work with one of our top customers in North America. where this dynamic is resulting in high performance and offering our cable client a competitive edge,” Rutter explains.
The other key strategy is to work with cable operators to harness new emerging technology-based services to create innovative, meaningful services for consumers. On that front, Technicolor has been an enabler of more immersive experiences in HDR, UHD, 4K and beyond, as well as developing commercial applications for cable operators on the frontiers of virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR).
“We are engaged in many early stage discussions with respect to AR and VR, as well as a developing proofs-of-concept for 16K technology by exploring the potential of 360-degree field of video applications that do not require a wearable device,” he says.
Beyond Broadband Access – Optimizing in-home Wi-Fi
The key to delivering – and monetizing — more content to the home will require cable operators to expand their focus beyond broadband access to the home. Consumers today expect to receive the kind of seamless in-home experience across an array of devices that require attention to be focused on Wi-Fi — and ultimately Internet-of-Things (IoT) – services.
“It’s not just about the management of Wi-Fi, but really about exploring entirely new services that can be served from that platform,” Rutter explains.
“We see a big opportunity in enabling our service provider customers to allow other 3rd party application providers to optimize those experiences.”
Technicolor stands poised to help its customers thrive in this new transformational era through a solution-oriented approach that can benefit the network clients and their end users by providing a smooth transition to the next generation of digital devices for the home.
