USA - Convergence - Triple Play & Quadruple Play

Synopsis

By early 2008 triple play services had started gathering momentum, largely driven by the rapid growth in cable VoIP, which adds the third limb of triple play to the cable companies’ TV and broadband offering. This in turn has compelled the traditional telcos to increase the pace of their entry into the TV market. The telcos have been successfully lobbying for TV regulatory reform as part of this push and by late 2008 Verizon had secured nearly two million FiOS TV subscribers and AT&T’s U-Verse TV had passed the one million subscriber mark. While most of the triple play services are still bundles rather than fully converged services, technological developments are increasingly allowing true convergence of triple play services on IP networks. The addition of wireless broadband services, such as via WiMAX networks, will usher in the growth of fully converged IP-based quadruple play services. In the meantime, quadruple play is also primarily in the form of bundles, either offered through alliances or through wireless group companies. This report provides an overview of key developments in the US triple play and quadruple play markets.