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Media
Center > Press Releases
For Immediate Release August 13,
2001
Contact: David Beckwith and Lori Chang,
202/775-3629 |
|
CABLE CONTINUES RAPID DEPLOYMENT OF BROADBAND
SERVICES
WASHINGTON, DC - The cable
industry reported solid increases in deployment of broadband
services during second-quarter 2001, adding more than two
million new digital customer units, a National Cable &
Telecommunications Association study revealed today. According
to figures from an NCTA member survey, the number of new cable
modem, digital video, and cable telephony subscribers rapidly
increased during the quarter ending June 30, 2001.
"Cable operators are continuing a very aggressive
deployment of advanced digital services," said NCTA President
& CEO Robert Sachs. "Digital video and cable modem service
are now available to more than 65 million U.S. homes, and tens
of thousands are signing up every week."
The nation’s
major cable operators added 920,000 new high speed Internet
cable modem subscribers -- more than 70,000 per week -- during
the second quarter, bringing the number of cable modem
customers in the U.S. to more than 5.5 million.
Cable
gained 1.3 million new digital video customers during
second-quarter 2001, bringing the nationwide digital video
customer base to 12.2 million. (The industry averaged 100,000
new installations weekly.)
Cable also added more than
200,000 new residential telephone customers - some 15,000
installations per week - to reach approximately 1.3 million
cable telephony subscribers.
Cable modem service
enables users to travel the Internet at speeds 50 to 100 times
faster than a standard dial-up service, and operates in an
"always-on" capacity. Users can download information virtually
instantaneously with state-of-the-art cable
modems.
Digital video service provides increased
channel capacity through compression of four to twelve digital
video signals in the same 6MHz slot previously occupied by a
single analog channel. As a result, customers are able to
receive dozens of new programming services. Program networks
have already launched some 60 new digital channels, offering
consumers additional choice and further program diversity.
Digital video also offers crystal-clear video images and
CD-quality sound, plus on-screen menus and program guides as
well as search capabilities, and expanded parental control.
Telephone service offered over digital cable lines
features numerous advanced services, including voice mail,
caller ID and call forwarding, often at rates markedly below
local services prices charged by incumbent telephone
operators. Discounts for cable telephony services range from
10-50 percent when compared with prices of telephone services
offered by incumbent local exchange carriers.
The
National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA),
formerly the National Cable Television Association, is the
principal trade association of the cable television industry
in the United States. NCTA represents cable operators serving
more than 90 percent of the nation’s cable television
households and more than 150 cable program networks, as well
as equipment suppliers and providers of other services to the
cable industry. In addition to offering traditional video
services, NCTA's members also provide broadband services such
as high-speed Internet access and telecommunications services
such as local exchange telephone service to customers across
the United States.
Visit us at www.ncta.com for the
latest information about the cable industry, including: recent
press releases; industry statistics; NCTA regulatory and court
filings; cable’s commitment to customer service; quality
programming; and education and technology initiatives.
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