Canadian Cable Operators Expand Switched Digital Video Rollouts

TORONTO -- Large U.S. cable operators such as Comcast and Charter may not be very enthusiastic about switched digital video (SDV) technology’s benefits, but the technology keeps gaining momentum north of the border. Several Canadian operators are deploying SDV or expanding their initial deployments of the technology, which is promoted as cutting digital spectrum use 40-60 percent. At the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers Canadian Summit last week, Rogers and Cable Cable executives said they're using the technology to make room for additional standard digital video channels and and increased broadband speeds.

Cable Cable has used SDV to extend the bandwidth of its congested 750 MHz plant, said Michael Fiorini, vice president and general manager. With the deployment, he said, the small operator has added 40 standard digital channels to its lineup, more than doubled HD channels to more than 60, added VOD including by subscription and upgraded its broadband subscribers to higher DOCSIS 3.0 speeds.

"We're past the point of tweaking the HFC plant,” said Fiorini, referring to hybrid fiber-coaxial. His company also explored analog reclamation and plant upgrades before choosing SDV. “SDV made the most sense,” he said. “Upgrading your HFC plant doesn’t cut it anymore. You piss off your customers and you end up doing the same thing two years later."

Rogers is preparing to increase its SDV commitment after aggressively rolling out the technology throughout its sprawling Ontario systems in late 2008 and early 2009, said Giancarlo Urbani, director of video services and platforms. He said Rogers, which already switches 194 standard digital and 25 HD channels in those systems, aims to reclaim an additional eight 6-MHz QAM channels by switching up to 180 more standard channels and 45 more HD networks and using higher oversubscription ratios. Plans also call for the company to deploy SDV in its Atlantic Canada cable systems by fall.

"We can’t do as much in the Atlantic systems because we have only 750-megahertz systems there,” as opposed to 860-MHz systems in Ontario, Urbani said. But he said Rogers will still be able to reclaim 11 QAM channels with SDV, chopping the number of QAM channels used from 19 to 8.

Mike Casciano, Clearcable Networks’ vice president of operations, said SDV “paves the way” for the introduction of “more TV-based, real-time services, such as VOD, IPTV, and virtual DVRs.” Casciano, whose company provides technical consulting help for Cable Cable and other Canadian operators, said the technology “virtually eliminates the need to sink more capital into plant upgrades.” He estimated that it costs $10 to $15 per home passed to implement SDV, much less than the capital cost of a plant upgrade.

Citing Comcast’s decision to press forward with digital terminal adapters rather than switched digital, Casciano cautioned that SDV is not “the end-all and be-all” technology that can resolve all cable technology concerns. “We know it works, it’s maturing, it’s getting better,” he said. “But each service provider is faced with different technical challenges. Don’t expect a silver bullet."

Casciano also wondered whether SDV will be “leapfrogged by IPTV” in coming years. He suggested that some larger cable operators might choose to “embrace alternative technology strategies” like IPTV, putting the future of SDV in jeopardy. Urbani and Fiorini agreed that SDV might turn out to be just “a medium-term solution” for cable operators hard-pressed to add bandwidth, not a long-term strategy. But they said the technology is still worth the investment now.