Western Show - Cisco to Cable: Hurry!

Get there firstest with the mostest. That old military maxim should be the mantra for cable operators when it comes to pushing broadband services to the consumer, warns John Chambers, president and CEO of Cisco Systems.

Cisco believes that cable operators have the advantage for grabbing customers in the short run, but that telephone companies will win if the process of signing up subscribers drags out too long.

“You’ve got to win the first battle,” Chambers said at the Western Cable Show. “Whoever gets that connection first – data, voice, video with good service, will probably have the customers for the next ten years.”

Moving into any new area needs good timing, he noted. Pushing broadband before customers are ready is as dangerous as waiting too long. But now is the time in North America, he emphasized.

He also told cable operators that they must accept that each new service they offer will eventually become a commodity, and they must be prepared to add value each time the profitability curve dips. He pointed to voice service as a lesson, saying that within two years it will be free, and that companies supplying services or equipment principally for those sectors will suffer.

Chambers used the occasion to show off Cisco’s new box, which has connections for the television, personal computer, analog telephone and IP telephone service. The consumer buys the box, sets it up via the Internet, and can upgrade services without having to go through the operator’s customer service representatives.