HomePNA Blog

U-verse Doing It's Part For AT&T

By Rich Nesin, General Manager and Resident Philosopher, HomePNA

It’s nice to see good news such as “AT&T’s profits soar on wireless, U-verse revenues” about a member, especially when it involves your technology and increases other members’ shipments.

“But according to Ralph de la Vega, AT&T’s president and CEO of Mobility and Consumer Markets, it wasn’t just the iPhone that helped drive AT&T’s success this quarter. De la Vega said that the carrier’s shrinking churn rate was due in part to the company’s IP-based U-verse service and subsequent triple- and quad-plays offerings, which seem to have been successful in driving revenue per household and customer retention.” Good news and something that shouldn’t go away when the iPhone exclusivity ends.

And, speaking of quad play …. If you weren’t aware, I’m a fan of TelcoTV. I live in PA so naturally I called Verizon to see if FIOS was available yet (I know they use MOCA and not HomePNA but nobody’s perfect). A very pleasant and helpful Verizon customer service representative searched for, but unfortunately couldn’t find, my house -- even though they have been providing my wireless service for years. Oh well, maybe someday. (While driving the other day I saw a billboard for CenturyLink near my house - and they use HomePNA for their TV service).

AT&T 2Q U-verse Results Just In

By Rich Nesin, General Manager and Resident Philosopher, HomePNA

AT&T's second-quarter results - just in - reported “continued strong growth in AT&T U-verse TV subscribers with a net increase of 248,000 to reach 1.6 million in service.”  The release also reports that more than 75% of the U-verse TV subscribers choose a triple (with broadband and voice) or quad-play (with broadband, voice and mobile) option.

Since a HomePNA network is installed in each of those houses it's not only great for AT&T but for HomePNA members.  It also provides continuing validation for the case we have been making about the value of bundled services. 

And while we are on the subject of bundled residential services, Kurt Scherf from Parks Associates has released a new free whitepaper, IPTV and the Digital Home,  that discusses the success of TelcoTV. Parks forecasts the number of Telco/IPTV subscribers to grow from around two million households in 2005 to over 35 million by the end of 2009 and addresses the question of why consumers might choose TelcoTV over more traditional video-centric offerings such as cable or satellite.

I like Parks' whitepapers. They focus on residential technologies and combine quantitative and qualitative data from all sides: consumers, manufacturers and service providers. “What has spurred this growth? The lesson from the significant increase in telco/IPTV subscribers over the past few years is that consumers choose to switch service providers for a variety of reasons and not necessarily to get that one “killer application”. When asked why they plan to switch providers for television services (among other services), consumers show a variety of churn triggers. They are about as likely to indicate that they’ve grown disenchanted with their current provider, that they’re expecting a significant up-front pricing deal, or that they expect better customer service as they are to indicate a desire for new features not available from their current provider.”

The accompanying chart shows money as a major but certainly not only motivator. “There are a variety of service features that, when implemented, could entice consumers to pick one provider over another. IPTV/telco service providers have a head start in offering some of these elements, which go beyond traditional TV”.  Customer service is on the chart and "Telcos find themselves in the unique position of having a comparatively better reputation than their competitors for their customer support practices".  HomePNA's remote management and diagnostic capabilities certainly play to that strength and promise enhanced capabilities for service providers that utilize them. The list, which includes other soon gotta-haves, goes on...

Nearly 10 million HomePNA Chipsets Shipped

By Rich Nesin, General Manager and Resident Philosopher, HomePNA

I hope you didn't miss the recent article "HomePNA chipsets enable smart home entertainment networking” by Eran Gureshnik, product line manager of HomePNA products at our favorite-son home networking chip supplier CopperGate Communications.

The article discusses how HomePNA 3.1 has improved business opportunities for service providers and entertainment options for end users. “These days, the answer to “What’s new on TV?” is far more than a list of sitcoms, dramas, and reality shows. Interactive bidirectional TV is elevating the viewing experience with offerings like AT&T’s U-verse, an IPTV service featuring video on demand, Voice over IP (VoIP), Total Home DVR, and more. A recent report from ABI Research states that demand for IPTV service will increase by an estimated 32 percent annually over the next six years to nearly 79 million global subscribers by the end of 2014.[1]”. Further, “Today, four out of the five largest IPTV-deploying telcos in North America have selected HomePNA and are installing it at a rate of 120,000 homes per month. CopperGate Communications has shipped nearly 10 million HomePNA chipsets”.

It also discusses the technical challenges involved in delivering triple-play broadband services and the way HomePNA 3.1, an ITU standard and the first multi-wire home networking standard, has paved the way for significant progress in IPTV with chips that reliably stream data, voice, and video over existing coax and phone wires. Included are features such as Limited Automatic Repeat reQuest (LARQ), a technique first used by the HomePNA SIG in the HomePNA 2 standard to compensate for high impulse noise which is known to cause frequent frame damage.

Old Dogs Really Hate New Tricks!

By Michelle Gamble-Risley, director, HomePNA Marketing and PR

We’re apparently a bit stubborn when it comes to giving up our old television sets or at least getting them digital-ready by June 22, the digital-transition date. Apparently 3.5 million U.S. households still are classified as “completely unready” for the transition, according to Nielsen’s National People Meter research. These stubborn traditional television lovers either hold out for the sake of some endurance trick or pure procrastination – either way June 22 will come round and what will they do when the “snow” starts to fall? Scream and bang on ancient TV set. Of course, in our world where our loyal following has already embraced digital television long before the government set forth the “new rule,” we’ll all happily watch our digital TV, eat a few kernels of popcorn, and ruefully laugh at our stubborn neighbors, as the old set crashes through their windows. “Stupid TV!” Oh yeah…

U-Verse – Something to Brag About in this Economy!

By Michelle Gamble-Risley, director, HomePNA Marketing and PR

 

The numbers just in (well, last week but we’re on top of it anyway). AT&T announces its U-verse fiber network passed nearly 18 million living units. Nearly 50 percent of AT&T U-verse TV subscribers takes one of the two largest video packages. More than 90 percent of U-verse TV customers bundle with high-speed Internet. More than 75 percent of U-verse TV customers have a triple- or quad-play. U-verse voice services are now available in 80 markets. Fantastic news in a time when the non-stop bad news pours out of Wall Street like an endless faucet. If you are considering joining HomePNA now is clearly the time. Come be a part of our ecosystem and enjoy the rewards of a rapidly growing IPTV marketplace that shows no sign of a slowdown.

Clouds Gathering Over Your Home

By Michelle Gamble-Risley, director, HomePNA marketing and PR

We always find it interesting when new terms get coined in the tech industry to add to the ever-growing Alphabit soup of acronyms and random phrases. We recently read an article in the Wall Street Journal about “cloud computing,” which could also be considered “grid computing” that really means the network is the computer. With the slow merge of the Internet with all things home entertainment, we’re willing to buy into the idea that clouds are gathering over your home network. As the home network comes together with the Internet to provide everything from basic computing needs to robust home entertainment and IPTV, the idea that the network drives everything in the home doesn’t seem like a stretch. Between HomePNA and wireless LAN you can attach to virtually any relevant device in the home without new wires. We’re willing to be that with the approval G.hn, the type of consumers’ in-home wiring will be of even less consequence to service providers that adopt the new standard. 

A Little Game of Television Domination

By Michelle Gamble-Risley, director of HomePNA Marketing and PR

All of those analysts out there that predicted that cable would dominate the telecoms when it came to the delivery of video services can get ready for a slow, but-ever-creeping-up coup. News out of Stifel Nicolaus, a research and investment firm, knocks out the notion like a painful sucker punch. The firm reports that for the first time, the growth of video customers should outpace the telephony gains among cable companies. We imagine executives at AT&T and Verizon, who largely view the cable MSOs as the television competition rather than each other, have already broken out in a triumphant dance of conquest. To add excitement to thrill, the report also suggests AT&T and Verizon will continue to take a nice bite out of their conquered market share over the next few years. Oh yeah, it’s good to be the conqueror!

Not Just another “Jack” in the Box

By Michelle Gamble-Risley, director, HomePNA Marketing and PR

If you think about IPTV as just another form of television entertainment, then you should realize that’s the equivalent of giving bored couch potatoes just another channel in their selection of thousands. At HomePNA we’ve touted the value of IPTV as being the “I” and the “P” part of the equation. We believe it would be a monumental mistake on a par with the thought that “video would not kill the radio star” to believe that integrating the Internet into the television-watching experience will not have a huge impact on subscriber rates.

“IPTV operators and other TV service providers don't want to be known only for delivering TV content to TV appliances,” according to columnist Dan O’Shea over at FierceIPTV . Well, of course not. Why be just another “Jack” in the bazillion of TV boxes out there? Makes no sense and also begs the question, “What’s the point of adding the IP part if not to bring online goodies into the TV’s capability?” A slow merge of TV and online media seems inevitable when you think about it. Don’t you want to be the next cool kid with the thousand of online channels to search, query, watch and enjoy? Of course you do.

So, big telco providers like AT&T U-verse and Verizon FIOS (even though Verizon doesn’t use IP for TV, it does use it for video on demand) with three screens IP strategies already prepared to pounce on the situation will be way ahead of the pack (and so will HomePNA!). So, we can all hum “IPTV killed the DVD star!” Hmmm… or maybe that’s Blue Ray (ouch). We agree with Mr. O’Shea that one key to getting there is transcoding – a multi-syllabic term for changing the way the data from different sources is encoded (MPEG 2, MPEG 4 etc) to allow it to be displayed by the set-top box -- which can be done at the distribution network’s head end, in the residential gateway, or in the set-top box itself. Which is another story.

Happy Days are Here Again!!

By Michelle Gamble-Risley, director, HomePNA Marketing and PR

It turns out AT&T U-Verse subscribers keep coming back for more based on customer satisfaction. Recent reports continue to provide great news on increasing U-Verse subscriber rates increasing each quarter, which makes everyone suffering from the malaise inflicted by too much bad news about the economy, very happy. In turns out that good old-fashioned customer service seems to be keeping subscribers happy and proliferating. While the cable companies cannot latch onto the same bragging rights, IPTV subscribers overall profess to be “very” or “extremely” satisfied with their service provider, according to Strategy Analytics. The report states that 80 percent of 842 U.S. Digital Television subscribers polled, responded they were very satisfied with their Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-Verse service. Meanwhile, competitors in the cable market report “low” satisfaction levels. So, the happy news just keeps coming as millions of couch potatoes settle in for the duration of the winter to sit in front of their cozy IPTV-enabled home entertainment center. Just bring on the popcorn!

Quadruple-Play Ready

A new study released from Compete Inc., a Web analytics company, suggests consumers are ready for quadruple play services (voice, data, video and IPTV) and details telecom companies positioned best to take advantage of the emerging opportunities. It also reported that consumers are driven first by bundled pricing and convenience (no surprise there) and are less concerned about which services are in the bundle -- however they are more interested in bundling broadband access with phone and TV over cellular service somewhat offsetting the advantage of telcos with cellular offerings.  Marketing the offerings is critical. 

We don't find the information particularly revelatory as much as it confirms our observations of the rapidly growing market place where consumers seem to be eating up AT&T's U-Verse service. As we reported in several blogs, U-Verse subscriptions picked up at a dramatic pace in the last two quarters of 2008. While this building momentum may be moderated somewhat (in their last quarter results, AT&T announced that it will slow U-verse deployments slightly and plan to pass 30M homes in 2010 rather than 2009), deployments don't appear to be eclipsed by recent economic woes so we really don't expect to see any abysmal numbers reported in the near future. In fact, we are encouraging service providers to join HomePNA as soon as possible. By becoming a member you will be taking the first steps to dodge the economic bullet. The home networking market in general seems to be a good place to be "playing" if you want to set your sights on higher ground and survive the economic storm.