Time Warner Cable Does Wideband

Time Warner Cable Inc (TWC - Snapshot Report) has recently deployed its first next-generation DOCSIS 3.0 (also called Wideband) service in New York City. With this, TWC has established itself as a formidable player to counter the threat from high-speed FiOS network of Verizon Wireless (VZ - Analyst Report). Earlier this month, the company has taken a decision to continue to roll-out switched digital video (SDV) in three major markets of Los Angeles, New York City (NYC) and Dallas. Deployment of SDV will free up bandwidth that can be used by TWC to offer 100 high-definition TV channels (HDTV), HD video-on-demand programs, and DOCSIS 3.0.
 
TWC will offer its residential tier Wideband service with 50 Mbps downstream and 5 Mbps upstream speed for $99.95. The company will also offer two commercial tier Wideband service. Together these services will cover 1.4 million subscribers in the NYC area.
 
The U.S. cable MSOs are aggressively deploying DOCSIS 3.0 technology to counter the threat from large telecom operators. Verizon Communications with FiOS network and AT&T (T - Analyst Report) with U-Verse network are likely to make the entertainment, information, and communications market highly competitive. Quest Communications International Inc (Q - Analyst Report) has also implemented VDSL-2 based high-speed network. Besides TWC, another major cable MSO -- Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC - Snapshot Report) -- has already launched DOCSIS 3.0 service in the NYC region with 101 Mbps download speed.
 
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA - Snapshot Report) -- the largest cable MSO in the U.S., commanding 25% market share -- meanwhile is aggressively rolling-out its wideband network. Management predicted that 80% of its residential networks will be upgraded to DOCSIS 3.0 (with 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload speed) by the end of 2009 and the rest by mid 2010.
 
Recently, the company has launched its first high-speed voice and Internet service for small and medium sized businesses leveraging on the DOCSIS 3.0 platform. This new service will provide downstream speeds of 100 Mbps and upstream speeds of 15 Mbps.