And there it sits. Cable wasn't going anywhere at the time, anyway. For cable companies, high-speed Internet access would be an additional revenue source, not a replacement. Fears over deployment costs and infrastructure modifications kept cable at bay long enough for the details to be worked out. Standards have been ratified.
Cable access is ready today.
With public demand peaking, market timing will determine which of these two technologies will be dominant. Right now, cable appears to be in the best position. Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, believes in it. He's bet a billion dollars on it by buying interest in competitive cable markets. This is more than just hedging bets.