'Quadruple play' services on the horizon
28 June 2006
News
Triple play services - bundled offerings of TV, phone and Internet - have proven effective for operators and service providers in reducing customer churn and delivering operational economies. According to a new study from ABI Research, some operators believe that adding a fourth element, wireless, will improve the equation still further.
In the United States, Sprint Nextel has announced that it will partner with several of the big North American MSOs to offer this 'quadruple play.' In the UK, cable operator NTL is buying Virgin Mobile. Verizon is rolling out its FIOS (Fiber Optic Services) and expects that, with a wireless division already part of the company, consolidation of services and networks will be that much easier.
Michael Arden, a principal analyst at ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com), believes that in many cases 'the marketing of triple or quadruple-play services to customers will precede integration of the networks and their equipment. True network integration takes time. Our study examines the networks themselves, not services.' So far, only BT among the major operators, has committed to complete integration of all its networks into one IP-based system.
Network consolidation for the sake of triple and quadruple-play services can reduce operational costs, he says, but brings new challenges as well. Its three layers of management - traffic control, equipment control, and administration/billing - all have to work together and be interoperable, which means that some standards will need to be developed.
Other challenges include QoS issues and network 'policy control'. Some operators expect to be compensated for the extra bandwidth required to support hosted VoIP services run by their partners. Billing is complicated in these multimode arrangements too, notes Arden, and there are questions of privacy: in order to prioritise network traffic the IP packets must be examined in some detail, identifying what individuals are doing online.
Further reading:
SACEEC celebrates standout industrial innovation on the KITE 2025 show floor
News
Exhibitor innovation took the spotlight at the KITE 2025 as the South African Capital Equipment Export Council announced the winners of its prestigious New Product & Innovation Awards.
Read more...
SA team for International Olympiad in Informatics
News
The Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa has named the team that will represent South Africa at this year’s International Olympiad in Informatics.
Read more...
Anritsu and Bluetest to support OTA measurement
News
Anritsu Company and Sweden-based Bluetest AB have jointly developed an Over-The-Air measurement solution to evaluate the performance of 5G IoT devices compliant with the RedCap specification.
Read more...
The current sentiment of the global electronics manufacturing supply chain
News
In its latest report, the Global Electronics Association provides an analysis of the current sentiment and conditions in the global electronics manufacturing supply chain as of June 2025.
Read more...
Global semiconductor sales increase in May
News
The Semiconductor Industry Association recently announced global semiconductor sales were $59,0 billion during the month of May 2025, an increase of 19,8%.
Read more...
New president for Avnet EMEA
News
Avnet has announced that Avnet Silica’s president, Gilles Beltran, will step into the role of president of Avnet EMEA.
Read more...
DARPA sets new record for wireless power beaming
News
In tests performed in New Mexico, the Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay program team recorded over 800 W of power delivered for about 30 seconds with a laser beam crossing 8,6 kilometres.
Read more...
Nordic Semiconductor acquires Memfault
RF Design
News
With this acquisition, Nordic has launched its first complete chip-to-cloud platform for lifecycle management of connected products.
Read more...
Trina storage demonstrates high efficiency and long-term reliability
News
Independent testing confirms 95,2% DC efficiency and 98% capacity retention after one year of operation.
Read more...
From the editor's desk: AI – a double-edged sword
Technews Publishing
News
As with any powerful tool, AI presents challenges, some of which, if not carefully managed, threaten to undo the potential that it can offer.
Read more...
printer friendly version