Video On Demand: Users Take Charge - Technology Information

Telecommunications, Sept, 2000 by Sean Buckley

Maribel Lopez, an analyst for Forrester Research, is a bit weary, however, of Enron and Blockbuster's deal. "Video-on-demand is a great concept, but the Achilles' heel will be the last mile, as carriers struggle to roll out broadband and install home network gear," Lopez said. "The result: Video-on-demand services will be stalled until 2002."

Claude Romans, director of carrier access networks for RHK, agrees. "Video distribution and video-on-demand are drivers for increasing bandwidth to the home. ILECs will run pilot trials on the next step in delivering bandwidth, but deployment will be slow."

Dueling Technologies

A number of technologies continue to target the first-mile for the delivery of video-on-demand, including cable, DSL, FTTC (fiber-to-the-curb) and MMDS (multichannel multipoint distribution service). Although the latter two may some day be an alternative delivery scheme, most of the noise continues to come from cable and DSL proponents.

Since the cable network is not open to competing ISPs, DSL proponents like Covad Communications argue that cable's shortcomings go beyond its technical limitations for the end user. "DSL is an open access platform that allows consumers to choose from one of hundreds of ISPs," said Abhi Ingle, Covad's director of product marketing. "Covad works with over 200 different providers such as Earthlink, Prodigy and Concentric to add high-speed access to its Internet service capabilities. Cable, on the other hand, forces you to choose the ISP that is associated with the cable broadband service--either @Home or RoadRunner."

Of course, cable proponents paint a different picture. Since conventional DSL runs at 1.5 Mbps, subscribers would not be able to download movie-quality video, which currently runs at about 6 Mbps. At 1.5 Mbps, DSL would be able to provide video service, but not with the quality that studios like Disney intended. Also, in multitelevision households, if one person was watching a movie and another was downloading music, bandwidth would be consumed rapidly, decreasing the quality of video delivery. The only way video-on-demand may be able to run over DSL with studio quality would be to use VDSL (very-high-rate DSL).

"On the other hand if it was just one video or one channel, DSL could handle it adequately?' said Jeff Walker, vice president of marketing for RiverDelta Networks, a start-up cable networking manufacturer.

Other analysts have a more positive outlook for video over DSL. According to Cahners In-Stat, video over DSL will have 23 million subscribers by 2005 (see Figure 2). The way the race for the first mile is shaping up, however, there will be no clear winner. Ernie Gallo, product manager for Telcordia, thinks the access network of the future will be an alphabet soup of different approaches. "The delivery platform is going to be from a number of sources, via wireless, DSL, FITH (fiber-to-the-home) or even fiberless solutions," Gallo said. "It's going to be a mix and match where economics and need will dictate what providers will use."