Fiber-Based Solution for Distributing Video to MSOs

A national fiber distribution service for delivering video programming to cable MSOs was announced by HITS, a business unit of the Comcast Media Center (CMC). According to HITS, the new distribution service lets MSOs deliver video to their subscribers at a fraction of the cost of building their own infrastructure; in addition, it provides content security and addresses access control concerns. The CMC's cable industry expertise is supported by tier 1 conditional access from Verimatrix and video processing and delivery powered by Harmonic Inc.

The new service uses the Comcast network to deliver video content to its HITS affiliates - either for primary delivery or as a backup for satellite-delivered programming, to reduce downtime during satellite outages. Connecting to the fiber network makes it easier for MSOs to broaden their high-definition portfolios and enables future services such as  iTV and 3DTV.

“The new HITS fiber-based solution represents the evolution of transport technology in the cable business today,” said Gary Traver, senior vice president and chief operating officer of the CMC. “Fiber delivery has the bandwidth and resiliency to deliver the large number of video services and encoding formats that can help MSOs compete in today's environment. The HITS fiber-based solution offers a reliable and potentially cost-effective content delivery method that an MSO can leverage in their long-term business strategy to add future services and revenue streams. ”

A spring 2010 HITS study found that more than two-thirds of MSOs surveyed had plans to centralize services and fiber their headends together. Once an MSO has a local fiber system established, it can connect to the HITS fiber-based solution either directly or through an access provider.