Some cable operators are moving towards Internet Protocol (IP) delivery as a means of offering their customers advanced interactive video services via the cable modem, according to a new study from ABI Research. However the change to IP will come at a cost: most of the computer premises equipment provided by operators to their customers will have to be exchanged for IP-capable versions.

"Existing cable networks only allow quite basic video-on-demand services. They really can’t handle high volumes of traffic and bandwidth demand, which limits the size of the content libraries that operators can offer. IP delivery not only moves a lot of the content that’s clogging up the multicast network onto the IP network, but the greater bandwidth permits other advanced television services such as online shopping and viewer voting that create new revenue streams for operators," it says.

The market research firm says that of the world’s regions, North America and South Korea are the two areas best placed, by virtue of their existing infrastructure and adoption of key DOCSIS standards, to make this transition to IP delivery.With the exception of a few set-top boxes and residential gateways that have built in support for the current DOCSIS standard used for delivery through cable modems, most of the presently installed base of CPE will have to be replaced to support IP delivery. And when the new DOCSIS 3.0 standard is finalised, all CPE without exception will need replacement, it says.

"This will create a huge opportunity for dominant CPE vendors Motorola and Scientific Atlanta; they will also be involved in the required upgrades to the cable modem termination systems at the operators’ headend installations," the research firm says.Operators may also need new, larger servers and storage in order to handle the larger libraries and greater interactivity that IP-based delivery will allow.

RFID market

It’s been sometime since this chronicle has written about Radio Frequency Identification technology. Apparently, the segment, which is often written about in glowing terms even though no one really
had empirical evidence to prove that it worked, has been growing steadily. According to the research firm, the global market for RFID readers and reader modules grew to more than 35,500 unit shipments in 2005, which used new metrics to conduct the study.

In addition, the analysis reveals that reader
unit volumes grew nearly 14 per cent in the first quarter of 2006 compared to the same quarter of 2005.

Tier-one Indian IT service providers have continued to thrive while major global service providers are continuing to lose ground, especially in the application services market, according to a new report by Forrester Research, Inc., an independent technology and market research firm.

In the report, titled "IT Services: Paradigm Shift Drives Continued Indian Provider Success", Forrester Research vice-president Stephanie Moore says, that Indian firms will continue to grow, not just because they are a lower-cost option, but because they have caused a "fundamental" and "structural" change in the service provider-client relationship.

"Offshore providers have taught clients to expect transparency, efficiency, and accountability in service delivery. With a few exceptions, onshore service providers are struggling to adapt to this new dynamic. Despite the talk that Indian vendors would be supplanted by global majors, tier one Indian vendors continue to take business from legacy service providers, and to demonstrate tremendous power in creating value," she says.

Mr Sudin Apte, senior analyst and country head, India, Forrester Research, says, "Top Indian vendors are working successfully towards penetrating the global market for high-end services, and their approaches include, building domain competency, consultancy practices and customer-specific solutions."

"Indian firms challenged by linear revenue growth linked with the labour growth, are trying their best to break direct connection between the two. And reusable components, framework based repetitive solutions and efforts such as lean software factories clearly demonstrate the quest," Mr Apte adds.