Advanced Television

Sigma: Cable operators must expand services

June 11, 2013

Sigma Systems believes that cable operators must expand their service portfolios to include new revenue-generating services such as home automation and home security for the residential market and cloud applications for the SMB (small and medium business) market to combat revenue loss from declines in legacy offerings.

“Communication service providers (CSPs), and in particular cable operators, have an immediate opportunity to enhance their service bundles for both the growing consumer and SMB markets as demand for traditional pay-TV and voice services slows,” said Rick Mallon, vice president of marketing and product management at Sigma Systems. “To balance the loss, operators must take advantage of new value-add applications and services that enable them to capture and retain these valuable subscribers. They now have the opportunity to become the single, trusted source for the growing number of applications these customers need.” Consumers seek controlAnalysts have been issuing warnings about reductions in pay-TV subscribers as over-the-top (OTT) providers start to gain traction. To combat this, operators must differentiate themselves by becoming more than just a provider of communications and entertainment services. But they need the ability to offer these services quickly and cost-effectively.

Chief among the new services that will drive further revenue and have the potential to increase customer loyalty are home automation, home security and eHealth. In 2011, GSMA estimated the global market for home automation, home energy management and smart meters was more than $8 billion in 2010 and it would leap to $44 billion by 2016. For consumers, there is a clear connection between purchasing high-speed broadband and home automation services from the same provider, allowing them to monitor their thermostat and utilities usage remotely, manage internet-connected home entertainment systems or unlock their doors with one click. Service providers that can offer these services as part of their bundles, giving consumers with a single source for all of these services with one integrated bill, will have a strong differentiation against their competitors.

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