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By Paul S. Maxwell
Not if we're smart.
And, so far, the industry is keeping the focus on features (speed) instead of price...and using the fabled bundle to create the stickiness.
But stickiness alone won't be the answer. Inertia can help only so long. (Don't believe me? Back in '94, more than 10 years ago for those of you counting, literally no one in cable paid attention as this columnist shouted about the launch of DTH in Albuquerque, N.M. In fact, at every panel at every venue for the next six years, every single cable executive dismissed DTH as a real threat. That's why I mentioned the counting part. We couldn't seem to do it at first.)
Inertia was cable's only friend as competition joined the mix. Cable didn't really respond. Instead, the focus shifted. Now cable dominates the broadband access market, for now. But that one quarter when DSL surged ahead...well, counting time again.
This time, as DSL providers move to make it a price competition, we're at least cognizant of the threats. And cable is doing something about them.
Like boosting broadband speed.
Like rolling out VOD (almost) everywhere.
Like working with TV set manufacturers and retailers (well, sort of...at least at the corporate level...not too good in the trenches...yet).
Like (beginning to, perhaps) making sense of billing statements. (Got a Qwest phone bill the other day. It has a bit at the top that says, "This bill includes these Qwest services: Home - Internet - Long Distance - Wireless - Digital TV." Note, that doesn't say DSL or someone else's wireless or DirecTV. Also note: These "phone" lines shift to Comcast later this month.)
Like, in a few cases, differentiating from the competition--whether from land lines or the sky--by focusing on local issues.
Like using radically cleaned up navigation systems, with more fine-tuning and changes for the better on the way. (Ain't playing catch-up a bummer?)
Like (beginning to) rethinking the video packaging (hey, I can hope...and keeeeeeeeep on repeating myself!).
Like getting ahead of the curve (again, someday, maybe) with development projects looking at integrating wireless/cellular/Wi-Fi with cable VoIP, voice-activated navigation, and coalescing all the signals into the home (and/or office and/or hand-held device) into one manageable "activity" complete with all the service and (all of) the bill from yours and my cable company.
Ah, the Holy Grail. The natural result of the digital world.
Addendum:
Long Day: While you can't see the steam coming out of the boot, it was a long, long ski day at the X-Games with ESPN. Buttermilk, which when I lived in Aspen was the hill for rank beginners (this week was only the second time I ever skied it!), has turned into a hot-shot freestylers' Mecca.
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I'm tired, though, from skiing out of bounds at Highlands. Well, I will be; picture was actually taken a couple of weeks ago and right now we're enjoying another made-for-cable event from ESPN. In Aspen. With kids doing things on skis and snowboards that leave me breathless (though, I have tried a few over the years--skiing with the late, and great, Peter Barton often included small ideas like skiing off the roof of the then-under-construction slope-side "eating" club and jumping off some major cliffs at Vail while racing one another through some awfully dense thickets of trees). Meanwhile, did your system cover your local athlete during the games? Wouldn't your local major ski/board equipment retailer have loved to sponsor some inserted interviews with the local star in the making?
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