Comcast’s Traver Talks 2010
By Multi Channel News Staff -- Multichannel News, 1/12/2006 6:02:00 PM
Comcast Media Center senior vice president and chief operating officer Gary Traver delivered the keynote address at the second day of the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers’ Conference on Emerging Technologies 2006 in Tampa, Fla., Thursday.
Traver discussed what cable operators must do in order to battle their competition in the next three to five years.
“Winning the battle for the media customers of the year 2010 will come down to who does a better job of serving customers’ need for convenience, choice and relevance; who has the best reputation for providing the services that customers want; and who offers the best comparable value,” Traver said.
“To win the battle for customers, we need to shape emerging technologies into innovative, market-driven solutions,” he added. “This is how we will continue to be the provider of choice in the competitive broadband world of 2010.”
However, Traver issued two warnings during his keynote address.
First, he said, MSOs must be sure that rolling out new services doesn’t compromise the quality of existing services, adding, “We can’t get so focused on the future that we overlook how we’re delivering service today.”
Second, he said, cable must separate hype from reality, adding, “Sometimes in the early stages, we don’t know what will be a fad and what will have the sustainable business models. But one of the things that we do know is that on-demand-content consumption is at the core.”
As for consolidating services on an Internet-protocol-based network, Traver said, “As market research tells us, the future’s less about a triple play or a quadruple play and more about being an integrated single play.”
He also called HDTV a “game changer,” adding, “How well we execute on HDTV will emerge as a significant competitive factor. Much of the battle over HD households will be waged at retail. Every consumer purchasing his or her first HDTV set should be considered as a conversion opportunity.”
