Cable's broadband-only idea builds on VoIP success

Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) CEO Glenn Britt admitted last week at an investor conference that the cable TV giant is seeing demand to offer a standalone broadband Internet service plan that does not require subscribers to have the company's cable TV service.

It should not be hard to imagine cable TV without cable TV service at this point. TV programming is becoming a top Internet feature, and video more generally becoming a leading source of Internet streaming traffic. Hearing a legacy TV provider indicate that broadband may become its primary business may seem surprising, but the cable TV industry's success with broadband-based VoIP services is what helped lay the groundwork for that moment.

More cable TV honchos may be ready to admit that TV, like VoIP, is just another broadband application. What that could mean is that cable TV companies may stop worrying about TV competition and ever-rising programming fees and sharpen their focus on investing in broadband. Some suggest that could mean an end to the triple-play services package, but if it does, it also opens the door to single-play services with unlimited apps and features.

For more:
- see this MSN Money article

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