Travelfan1
RIP Analog Go Digital
join:2005-08-23
Iselin, NJ
 ·Comcast
|  First DTA dongle market identified: Portland, OR
»www.lightreading.com/document.as···d=166950
Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) has identified Portland, Ore., as one of the first markets that will fuel an all-digital migration with one-way digital terminal adapters (DTAs).
"Portland is getting ready to go as we speak with the new DTA boxes, which are now in stock and in test homes," Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said this morning during the MSO's third quarter earnings call.
Comcast is expected to deploy DTAs aggressively as part of an all-digital strategy that will enable the operator to reclaim spectrum from about 40 analog channels, reusing it for Docsis 3.0 and expanded high-definition television (HDTV) and video-on-demand (VOD) services.
Comcast anticipates migrating 20 percent of its footprint to all-digital by year's end, and has said previously that it might need as many as 25 million DTAs to complete the migration over the next 12 months to 18 months. Comcast said it plans to deploy millions of DTAs in the fourth quarter alone. (See Comcast Doctoring Digital in Detroit , Comcast Pursuing $35 Digital Dongle, and Comcast Confirms Digital Dongle Project.)
So far, Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT - message board), Thomson (NYSE: TMS - message board; Euronext Paris: 18453), and Pace Micro Technology have been identified as Comcast's DTA suppliers. Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO - message board) also has a DTA on the roadmap. (See Pace Pix , DTAs on Parade , Thomson Confirms Comcast DTA Order, and Cisco Doubles Up for Cable.)
Even with a self-install option, Comcast anticipates that its DTA markets will require additional truck rolls and elevated levels of marketing. Those costs are "all baked into our plans, but it does have an effect on the profitability of that system when it's going through that conversion," Roberts said.
Comcast COO Steve Burke later downplayed concerns that the DTAs will provide access to the operator's expanded basic digital signals without encryption -- at least for the foreseeable future.
"In many senses, it (digital video fed through DTAs) will be more secure than the analog distribution," Burke said. "We will not be using encryption initially, and that's fine in terms of our programming contracts." Those DTAs, however, could activate so-called "privacy mode" encryption via a firmware upgrade, but doing so could force the operator to seek out a special set-top waiver from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) . (See Comcast's DTAs: Security Optional .)
Weathering the economy
Comcast's third-quarter results showed the operator wasn't yet effected by a turbulent economy, but it did witness slower subscriber growth in some service categories.
Revenues rose 10 percent to $8.5 billion, with net income reaching $771 million (26 cents per share), versus $560 million (18 cents per share) in the year-ago period. (See Comcast Reports Q3.)
On the service front, Comcast lost 147,000 basic subscribers in the quarter, much worse than a 27,000 basic subscriber loss expected by Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Inc.
Comcast, however, added 417,000 digital video subscribers, extending that total to 16.8 million and a penetration rate of 69 percent. About 7.3 million of that total also subscribe to the MSO's digital video recording (DVR) and/or hi-def service.
The operator also signed up 382,000 cable modem subscribers, giving it 14.7 million subs. Comcast noted that it was still too early to judge the success of its initial rollout of Docsis 3.0, the baseline for its new 50 Mbit/s and 22 Mbit/s downstream service tiers. (See Comcast Takes 'Wideband' Wider .)
"We have [Docsis 3.0] customers now, but measured in the hundreds," Burke said. "The good news is, technically, it works beautifully… but in terms of customer reaction, it's just too early."
Comcast signed up 483,000 digital voice subscribers, extending the total to 6.1 million, or a penetration rate of 13 percent. Growth in the category slowed (the MSO added 550,000 VOIP subscribers in the previous quarter), and Comcast noted that it's growing weary of churn caused by customers who cut their hardline in favor of getting voice services only from a wireless carrier.
— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Cable Digital News
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COMCAST of New Jersey II(Union) - Verizon DSL
You want more HD? Then e-mail Rick Germano - Go to Contact Us in the Comcast web site. And don't complain when analogs are removed! Digital isn't the future, it's the present! |
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rv65
Trig isn't Sarah's Baby
Premium
join:2008-08-02
San Diego, CA
1 edit | DTA's are better for Digital/Analog households while the terapix is better for all analog households. The Terapix has gotten cheaper but requires a Truckroll to install it. Some Analog only customers might just want a solution like the terapix. DTA's though are more flexible and don't require a truck roll. DTA's can be handed out at the payment facility. |
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Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL | Will you have to pay $3 - $4 + /m for that $35 mini box? |
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cypherstream
Looking forward to the future of things.
Premium,MVM
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
clubs:
| reply to Travelfan1
I think they should let you buy the box outright, or lease to own. If you do pay $3 a month, once you hit the total cost of the equipment, the monthly rental fee should disappear and they should consider it yours.
Why? Because it doesn't do security. It doesn't do 2 way like on demand. It's simply a "dumb terminal" that scans the cable line for clear QAM and obtains channel mapping from some simple signaling method (most likely how the old SA8600 / Jerrold DPBB did through simple FSK signaling in the FM band). |
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Greg2600
join:2008-05-20
Belleville, NJ
1 edit | reply to Travelfan1
Anybody know what the DTA's look like?
Oh, found it.
»connectedhome2go.files.wordpress···a100.jpg |
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rv65
Trig isn't Sarah's Baby
Premium
join:2008-08-02
San Diego, CA | Even Cisco has one as well as Thomson, and Pace Micro. |
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GTFan
join:2004-12-03
| reply to Travelfan1
The most important news here, IMO, is that they're going to keep expanded basic in the clear, so new sets that get clear QAM channels won't need a box.
But does this also mean that they have to keep using traps for the limited basic customers? |
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cypherstream
Looking forward to the future of things.
Premium,MVM
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
clubs:
| said by GTFan  :But does this also mean that they have to keep using traps for the limited basic customers? If you have limited basic the trap is already on the line. No reason for anyone to come out. Same procedures as today. |
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GTFan
join:2004-12-03
| Yeah that's why I said 'keep using them'. Which means that they'll have to keep deploying and maintaining them in future. Kind of surprising to me because I thought they'd want to get rid of them by mandating boxes or cards. Guess they came to their senses when they saw that they'd lose their main advantage over satellite. |
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markofmayhem
join:2004-04-08
Pittsburgh, PA
| They're awaiting a waiver from the FCC to allow security in the DTA's which can be enabled through a firmware upgrade. It's a simple ID send, on/off receipt. If approved, traps will be removed and so will "in the clear". The waiver has a strong chance of making it through for the FCC allowed significantly cheap STB's to apply for a waiver from seperable security. |
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cypherstream
Looking forward to the future of things.
Premium,MVM
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
clubs: | The FCC should made a condition with that though. If Comcast want's to enable privacy mode, users must be able to purchase and OWN the DTA without a monthly equipment rental fee. |
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Greg2600
join:2008-05-20
Belleville, NJ | reply to Travelfan1
I don't understand the reluctance. When Comcast Cable Internet started, they had you buy the modem from Radioshack, and gave you a rebate for it when you signed up. |
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baloo755
join:2006-07-30
Camas, WA
1 edit | reply to Travelfan1
According to this:
»www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthre···14988985
They are going to charge $1.99 for each adapter after the first 2 in Portland. The message is kind of confusing whether you have to pay for the first 2 adapters if you already have 2 digital outlets or if those first 2 digital outlets count towards the adapters. |
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Greg2600
join:2008-05-20
Belleville, NJ | reply to Travelfan1
As expected, Comcast will be leasing the equipment out. The $1.99 is not bad, especially if they replace broken remotes for free. My question of course, will Comcast only charge $1.99 or will they slap on their unique "outlet fee"? |
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Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL
| reply to Greg2600
said by Greg2600 :I don't understand the reluctance. When Comcast Cable Internet started, they had you buy the modem from Radioshack, and gave you a rebate for it when you signed up. Just wait for IPV6 will it be $2 per ip a /m? |
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mikedz4
join:2003-04-14
Weirton, WV | reply to Travelfan1
how are they going to tell how many computers you have on your network?
If they charge people two dollars per computer then people will go back to dialup or dsl and not go with cable internet. |
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beavercable
join:2008-05-11
Beaverton, OR | reply to Travelfan1
If you have standard/ starter cable the first two boxes will be free. The boxes are about the same size if not smaller than most modems. It comes with remote.And by the way that Moto box isn't the one we are getting. |
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sansri88
Go digtal you analog laggards
Premium
join:2005-12-17
New York, NY
clubs: | What if you have a digital package already?
Once they introduce the DTAs here (which I'm pretty sure they will eventually)...would I have to pay for 2 of them if I already sub to a digital package? |
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cypherstream
Looking forward to the future of things.
Premium,MVM
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
clubs:
1 edit | reply to Travelfan1
My understanding is that you automatically can get up to 2 DTA's, but each one after that cost's $1.99. All current fees apply for the other equipment since they can get more channels, VOD and have a guide.
If it's $35 a DTA, Comcast is spending $70 per home for this upgrade. How much would it cost them per home to do 1 GHz, or Fiber, or SDV ??? I guess the bean counters figured the DTA route was the most cost effective solution. Keep in mind, not every home will take 2. Some will keep a DVR or HD box and some will keep regular boxes. Or maybe some only need 1 DTA for 1 TV in a small apartment or home. |
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Greg2600
join:2008-05-20
Belleville, NJ | reply to Travelfan1
Comcast is at least a year too late with the DTA, and by the time they get here to NJ, 2 or 3 years too late. Another example of CC's generosity, the Verizon Fios migration offered up to 3 free DCT-700's, Comcast only two. |
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