Ops See Cisco as Top Dog in IP Set-Tops

According to Infonetics Research, operators new see Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) as the overall top IP set-top box supplier, displacing Motorola from its top spot last year. Cisco has led in global IP STB revenue share for four straight quarters.

• 94% of service providers participating in Infonetics' survey use IP STBs to deliver video services.



• Carriers identified the top three critical IP STB applications as VOD, EPG and whole-home DVR.



• STB social networking capabilities (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) were not rated highly by survey respondents.



• Ethernet is the leading technology for connecting STBs to home networks and sharing media with other devices, followed by 802.11n and universal plug and play (UPnP).



• Increases in HD programming and time-shifted viewing are placing greater storage burdens on the STB: 71% of operator respondents believe they will need more than 500 GB of hard drive capacity by 2013.



• Cisco and Motorola are tied as the most installed IP STB suppliers among carriers, followed by Amino.