Quintuple play

For all the talk about triple and quadruple plays in the telco / cable battlefield (choose from wireline phone, mobile phone, internet and TV), there are two Western Canadian telephone companies positioning themselves with a quintuple play – adding security into the mix of options.

We like the stickiness of security services. For all sorts of reasons, home security monitoring just doesn’t churn. It is a high margin business, often delivering more than 80% margin, even when the service is completely outsourced. People never seem to switch.

MTS Allstream has been playing in this area for some time, having acquired AAA Alarms back in 1998. SaskTel has seen success with its SecurTek operation since 1999, and is also a major wholesaler of alarm monitoring. Jon Arnold has recently written about the MTS bundles.

MTS Allstream and SaskTel have also been leading in deployment of IP-TV services. MTS TV has reportedly grabbed 25% share in Winnipeg and has successfully launched High Definition services.

There was a time that other phone companies and cable companies played in this space. With the availability of low cost intelligent, pan-tilt-zoom cameras, it seems to me that there are some interesting opportunities for integration of video monitoring over high speed networks and mobile TV – perhaps a return to this space by the major carriers. It is a natural bundle with telecom services.

From my days living in USWEST territory, I recall a slogan from an advertising poster: In the west, you either make dust or eat dust. Watch the west for innovation. We’ll keep an eye on consumer adoption of the quintuple-play in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

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MTS Allstream, SaskTel, SecurTek, IPTV, Mark Goldberg