Readying the Roll
Cable IP telephony is quickly winning MSO converts
By David Iler
from the March 19, 2001 issue of Broadband Week
Well, we're waiting. And so far, the talk about VoIP has been mostly that--talk. Increasingly, though, the nation's largest cable TV operators quickly are realizing the potential of delivering Internet Protocol (IP) telephony on its upgraded networks, as several operators are ramping up trials this quarter to test the service.
Sparking the viability of cable IP telephony are the advancement of two key standards, Cable Television Laboratories' Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) 1.1 and PacketCable 1.2, and with vendor compliance testing now underway, expect to see standardized IP telephony gear in the hands of cable operators later this year.
Moving forward, companies like AT&T Broadband, Time Warner Cable, Comcast Cable Communications and Charter Communications have all begun limited IP telephony trials in a few select markets. Cablevision Systems has also jumped on the VoIP bandwagon, recently announcing that it too is exploring IP telephony and an integrated wireless voice and data service, which should coincide with its forthcoming launch of Sony digital set-top boxes within the system.
One of the biggest cheerleaders for pure IP telephony in the cable industry is Comcast Cable Communications' vice president of new media development, Steve Craddock. Comcast, he says, has been looking at pure IP telephony "probably longer than everybody else." He points to Comcast's recently concluded trial in its Union, N.J. system, which tested now-discontinued PathStar telephony gear from Lucent Technologies. The trial, says Craddock, lasted a little over a year and provided Comcast with valuable technical and operations experience serving up IP telephony. The trial has since been discontinued, and Craddock says the company is now looking to trial PacketCable-based IP telephony gear.
"We are looking at a complete softswitch PacketCable-compliant solution," Craddock explains, referencing an ongoing technical trial with Cisco Systems and Telcordia in Philadelphia. While the Cisco/Telcordia IP gear is not yet PacketCable-compliant, Craddock says Comcast is helping to push the two vendors into compliance by working through the Philly trial.
At the same time, Comcast is conducting an RFI for PacketCable-compliant components, and Craddock intimates that the company is putting together a service that Comcast could bring to market late this year or early next year. He adds, "We feel like it's time to look at how and whether we should go to market with some kind of IP voice product."
The service, he says, probably will be a non-primary, or secondary, line service. Craddock expects to see prototypical DOCSIS 1.1 and PacketCable products by the second or third quarter of this year, and is hoping to get three or four PacketCable-based systems and run them side-by-side in Philadelphia. Also in the mix, the testing of so-called "next-generation" DOCSIS 1.1-based cable modem termination systems (CMTSs), a critical piece to the delivery PacketCable-based service.
Also seeing the opportunity for secondary line IP telephony is the country's second-largest MSO, Time Warner Cable, which recently launched an IP telephony trial in Rochester, N.Y. under the Line Runner brand. The service, says spokesman Mike Luftman, will be similar to the IP trial underway in its Portland, Maine system, where the company is offering second line service to Road Runner Internet customers for $9.95 per month. Nine other calling services, including call waiting, caller ID and call forwarding, are available for an additional $3.70 per month.
"The primary reason to launch the trial was to answer one question: 'Will people pay for this service?'" says David Good, director of Road Runner operations for the Portland system. Time Warner, says Good, is trying to attract 1,000 IP voice customers by September and will then monitor usage and calling patterns before embarking on a full deployment.
"We think there's a very good opportunity there (with IP telephony)," says Luftman, pointing out that Time Warner, based on the $4 billion spent on upgrading its systems, is obligated to run as many services over its network as it possibly can. By offering secondary line service, cable operators (depending on regulatory requirements) can avoid the expensive network powering costs required of full, "lifeline" telephony service.
On the AT&T front, contrary to reports that AT&T Broadband is backing away from telephony because of capital expenditure freezes, spokesperson Sarah Duisik acknowledged that the company is engaged in a VoIP marketing and technical trial, but says the company isn't revealing the details. However, she says, "We believe we won't roll out voice over IP until it's completely ready for prime time. We're not going to roll out something like voice over IP until it's equal to or better than the existing circuit-switched technology that our customers are happy with today."
"By the time voice over IP is being deployed by anybody on any scale, we'll have over one million voice customers," says Steve Lang, vice president of external communications with AT&T Broadband.
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