By Larry Robinson
President, CPE
The CPE industry has moved from devices to ecosystems — we’re now the foundation and future of Residential Technology
After a year of cementing important new standards and consolidating technology gains, 2019 will be pivotal in the emerging category of residential technology. The foundations have never been stronger:
- Technologies in development for the past several years, began to sell in volume. It’s hard to think of another year in our industry where this much progress has been made in such a short time. Adoption of new technologies - and early introductions of services using them - spanned UltraHD displays, integrated over-the-top (OTT) video, gigabit-capable broadband, and true smart-home management.
- We increased our market share internationally — and maintained worldwide market leadership among service providers. Customers including Bell Canada; Australia’s National Broadband Network Co and Foxtel; Sky Italia; and Intigral (Saudi Telecom multimedia subsidiary), helped us broaden both our geographic footprint and range of products and services. We’re already underpinning multi-gigabit networks, with lower operational costs, around the world.
- We maintained our U.S. market leadership. And with the intensity and breadth of competition this year, this is an important achievement. We know that we need to earn our leadership every day, and we’re grateful that our work continued to win awards in 2018, including a CES Innovation Awards Honoree and CE Pro's BEST.
Looking forward, 2019 promises to be even more dynamic. Strong buying triggers are emerging in both the U.S. and internationally. So here are the top three things to watch:
- Ultra-connected homes will become real with the rise of fixed wireless and 5G. Further, the broadband gateway is destined to become the digital nerve center of the ultra-connected home. As the hub of the connected home’s sophisticated network, it will manage increasingly smart media devices and a growing list of next-generation services (starting with perimeter security and Wi-Fi management). The future is definitely multi-gigabit.
- There will be a flight to quality. Any time an industry transforms this quickly, there is dislocation. That makes the flight to quality inevitable. This will happen at the supplier level and also at the product and service level. A history of technology, design, and market leadership is the best indicator of who will thrive in this new world order. User experiences, technology performance, and energy efficiency will all grow in importance as operators seek to deliver superior experiences, service and mobility.
- Technology upgrade cycles will compete with entirely new services to drive the most demand. Those who succeed will connect to everything and will integrate with others who are also best-in-class. APIs and advanced rights management will drive base technology and middleware innovations from DOCSIS® 3.1 to Wi-Fi 6 fixed wireless, to IP video and 4K dynamic range and more.
Simply put: There’s never been a better time to be in this $20 billion market. We invented the delivery of digital services to the home - and we continue to create its future.
Happy New Year.
