Major carriers tackle access issues

CHICAGO--

Kicking off a panel discussion on access networks hosted by Telephony magazine Tuesday, Jim Hansen, senior vice president of networks for Sprint’s local telecom division, explained the amount of attention access networks are getting in both the industry and the Supercomm trade show by paraphrasing a storied bank robber. “It’s where the money is,” he said.

The four-person panel, introduced by AFC CEO John Schofield and moderated by Telephony Editorial Director Jason Meyers and Executive News Editor Vince Vittore, discussed a variety of issues surrounding access networks, from technology approaches to business models.

“We think there is a killer app, and it’s entertainment,” Schofield said, pointing to gaming as one example.

Most of the panel members (representing Verizon Communications, Qwest Communications, Sprint and SBC Laboratories) voiced a clear interest in offering video service, even if they were unclear about how to address some of the issues involved in offering video service. “If you’re not in the video business, you will not be in the consumer business,” said Balan Nair, chief technology officer of products and services for Qwest.

But although deploying fiber to greenfield developments seemed a “no-brainer” to Nair, he asked, “What do I do with 50 million existing copper lines?” Qwest put a 50,000-subscriber VDSL trial on hold while it considered partnerships with satellite video providers, he said.

Telcos will need to find ways to differentiate their video offerings from that of cable providers to avoid having to resort to a price war to win customers, said Sprint’s Hansen.

However, among any group of consumers receiving monopoly service (cable or telephony), Qwest’s Nair pointed out, some will elect to switch providers even if offered identical service from a competitor. “It’s a swapping strategy,” he said. “They’ll take the customers who don’t like us, and we’ll take the customers who don’t like them.”

Video-on-demand poses challenges for new entrants, Nair said, because its most popular offering is new releases in the first few weeks of availability when video rental stores have exclusive access to them. But telcos could pose a threat to cable video offerings by acquiring content providers, he said.