Fiber Drives Cable TV to LIGHTWAVE`s Market
Telecommunications service providers are gradually recognizing the opportunities that open competition has created due to deregulation of this business environment. The race is on to provide additional revenue generating services before a new, energetic competitor steals away the customer.
To many this race is running at a snail`s pace. Signs of the acceleration of true competition are everywhere; service providers are beginning to escape from their traditional roles and offer their customers new and improved services.
Many telecommunications service providers, anxious to find new revenue streams and fend off emerging competitors, have been launching programs to deliver video services to their customers, a role traditionally played by cable TV companies. Meanwhile, cable TV companies are launching programs to deliver telephone service and highspeed Internet access, services traditionally offered by phone companies.
In order to stay competitive, telecommun ication systems nationwide are upgrading and enhancing their fiber-optic plant infrastructures to handle the delivery of broadband services.
continued on page 2
Telecommunications service providers are very familiar with fiber-optic technology to handle long-haul communication needs. But they have new motivation to drive fiber deep into neighborhoods, so they can offer billable video channels and other services. Some are following the traditional cable TV model of hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) architecture, while others are working to have "fiber to the cur``, with extraordinary bandwidth available to each customer. This effort by telcos to deliver cable TV type services is beginning to open up a new market for components, equipment and services associated with broadband video delivery systems.
Sophisticated fiber-optic equipment designed to deliver video channels previously was only of interest to the more progressive cable TV multi-system operators (MSOs). MSOs are a tightly knit industry with purchasing decisions made by an intimate group of engineers and corporate management. They look for "ready-made" solutions geared specifically to their own narrow market.
It`s a different story with the large telecommunications service providers, such as the Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs). These large organizations dwarf the traditional cable TV industry by maintaining the purchasing power, engineering expertise, established market base and, most importantly, the motivation to eventually buy vast quantities of broadband video delivery equipment.
The key is to begin to build a general identity within the fiber-optic community as having a unique expertise in broadband-over-fiber. From this first step, a firm can build a relationship with the engineering managers and executive level contacts who are currently evaluating which fiber-optic technology vendor suits their needs. For suppliers of fiber-optic broadband components and equipment, LIGHTWAVE offers the ideal reader base and editorial environment for "branding" a firm to a wider market beyond traditional cable TV.
LIGHTWAVE has an impact which targets engineering managment and corporate executives assigned to evaluate fiber-optic products and equipment, and the companies that produce them.
The huge advantage for utilizing LIGHTWAVE is that our readers work for a variety of firms that are potential customers for advanced fiber-optic technology, not just readers in a single narrow catagory. We have a strong reach into telecommunications service providers, OEM telecommunication equipment & system manufacturers, utilities, government, military, and traditional cable TV.
All of our readers have one thing in common: they read LIGHTWAVE because they buy fiber-optic components and equipment, and they buy a lot of it.
Alan Ring, Western Regional Sales Manager