Telecom Providers Enter Fiber Optic Pay-TV Market

American telecom carriers have started a major revolution in the multi-play entertainment and communication industry over the past couple of years, by rolling out subscription-based fiber-optic television services in dozens of U.S. cities.

Big telephone incumbents like AT&T and Verizon are spending billions of dollars to deploy massive fiber-optic internet and video networks across the nation, in the hope of better competing with cable companies in the broadband and television markets. Industry analysts expect these fiber-optic television offerings to experience massive growth in the long-term, as carriers launch advanced interactive video services, and deliver television via cell phones and the internet, increasingly blurring the lines between telecommunications and entertainment.

In terms of network availability and service penetration, Verizon’s FiOS TV has emerged as America’s most successful IPTV service to date. FiOS has challenged video incumbents like Comcast and Cablevision in markets across the country, to serve over 300,000 households in ten states. AT&T’s U-verse offering, meanwhile, was deployed somewhat later than FiOS, but has been rapidly expanding its user base since early 2007.

Fiber-optic television services have also been deployed in Canada, where one of the major telecom incumbents, Telus Corp., is aggressively challenging cable rival, Shaw Communications in the western province of Alberta.


Published by TeleClick Enterprises
Edited by Jeremy Maddock