IP offers other possible competitive cost and equipment advantages in itself. Each delivery method has its advantages and unique networking or in-building wiring issues to consider. When all of these methods and issues are considered, ISUs offer the best possible solution for an MSO to provide lifeline telephony in the effort to gain a leg up on telco competition. The competitive climb Lifeline telephony service plays a critical role in MSOs' ability to compete against incumbent service providers. Telco customers provide a background of expectations for telephony service from which MSOs must develop a marketable, competitive advantage in this converging market.
Competitive advantages come from one of three areas.
Proposed lifeline overlay to an existing, circuit-switched cable network architecture with a migration path to a pure IP delivery platform. Companies that position themselves to take advantage of this convergence and technical advancement of IP can create entirely new ways of packaging and marketing multimedia services. S ome MSOs have expressed their business focus to provide secondary-line telephony only, making lifeline less of an issue. MSOs have a significant advantage in their ability to bundle voice, video and data services. They can also better utilize their bandwidth and equipment.