On July 5, Bell announced its Optimax internet service, offering download speeds of 10-16 Mbps (see Jon Arnold’s comments). Now Videotron has raised the stakes even higher, giving subscribers to its Extreme Plus High-Speed Internet 20 Mbps service. As the Quebecor press release says: “Videotron still the fastest. Period.”
Through the weekend, Mark Evans wrote about HDTV: Hot or Not? I suspect that increased HDTV penetration is one of the strategic objectives of the cable industry.
Telco IP TV has limitations on the number of HD channels that can be carried over its broadband connections. The sooner that people buy multiple HD screens for their homes, the more difficult it will be for the phone companies to control a household bundle that includes traditional broadcast distribution.
There is a disruptive approach needed – we think the phone companies need to change the rules of the game. We’ll have some more thoughts on this over time. And later this week, we’ll look at a colleague who specializes in disruption.
Stay tuned!