CABLE CONGRESS 2008 – MADRID. The much-touted launch of DOCSIS 3 broadband internet services will be based on economics as much as technology. Picking up on a discussion that had spilled over from the earlier CEO panel, Cable Europe president and Kabel Deutschland executive Manuel Cubero said 22% capital expenditure had been invested in the network in order to offer the best broadband speeds to customers. “In some cases we might encounter congestion of the network, but there are tools, which you have to focus carefully, because if you do the wrong thing the customers will leave.”
Cubero encapsulated the issue highlighted in the UK that web-based on demand services such as the BBC iPlayer would put additional pressures on the network as presented with speeds in excess of 50 Mbps the customer would find new uses for the bandwidth that would put pressure on the networks.
“We’re not under pressure to introduce 100 or 200 quickly, but we want to be the leader in value for money,” added UPC’s Manuel Kohnstamm, VP, Cable Europe.
It seems probable that despite the headline speeds available from the new DOCSIS 3 technology, its introduction into Europe’s cablenets will be based on what speeds are available elsewhere in the market.
“DOCSIS 3 is something of a journey and a complex process, said Malcolm Taylor, managing director, EuroCableLabs. “Most of the demands are for download speeds and I think people want to introduce on a step by step basis because those headline speeds have an impact right through the network.”