Man the hype machine: Cable operators, vendors join effort to promote cable modems

Hoping to capitalize on the fact that they entered the market before digital subscriber line, 37 cable operators and vendors have joined to increase public awareness about cable modems.

The Cable Broadband Forum will promote the use of cable operators' platforms through educational programs and by acting as a unified voice for the cable industry on data issues. "The primary activity of this group will be to participate in public relations," said Robert Davenport, senior vice president and chief operating officer of TCI.net.

In a related announcement, @Home said it will launch a large-scale direct mail and advertising campaign. Additionally, the company is teaming up with Cisco Systems on a road show to bring live demonstrations of its network to shopping malls in 12 U.S. markets.

Part of the CBF's effort will focus on changing the public's attitude about cable operators, said Tom Cullen, vice president of Internet service for MediaOne and CBF's chairman. "There's a general misperception that a cable company is still strictly delivering linear video," he said.

The undertaking comes at a critical juncture in the cable modem market. Since the end of last year, cable operators have doubled modem subscribers, and most agree with industry predictions that there will be 1 million paying customers by 2000 (see figure). But with telcos announcing DSL rollout plans for this year, cable's position as the lone high-speed Internet option for residential users is disappearing. Still, CBF members claim they do not intend to counter-market against DSL.

"I don't counter-market for a product like this," said Leo Hindry, president of Tele-Communications Inc. "No one will convince me that our product is not the superior product." DSL also will suffer from the lack of a single standard, he added.

DSL proponents, however, say the CBF effort will be good for both technologies because it will promote awareness of high-speed Internet access. They also point to the group formed by Microsoft, Compaq and several telcos as evidence that a single standard will emerge. "And that group owns the PC," said Bill Rodey, vice president of the ADSL Forum.

Telcos have big advertising budgets that could be used to promote DSL when it hits the market. "We have a huge amount of confidence that in these early rollouts, the telephone companies will be advertising very heavily," said Rodey.