Although this does not auger well for the future of cable-modem service, there are a number of strategies that cable operators can employ to gain the largest possible market share. According to some analysts, cable modem and DSL deployments will be roughly equal this year, with DSL pulling ahead from here on out. New standards and technologies are driving this trend. The G.lite and G.dmt standards are gaining widespread industry acceptance. Add to that the ease at which DSL users can now install and provision their new modems.
Few customers require a truck roll to get connected anymore.
And with new technologies allowing DSL providers to push the service further and further into their networks, DSL is not likely to remain strictly an urban business solution for very long. But cable operators still have a number of distinct advantages. The first is throughput, which outstrips that of DSL even when multiple users are on the shared network simultaneously. The best a telco can do is bundle DSL with call waiting and voice mail. But by leveraging the head start that cable modems have over DSL and building brand loyalty, cable operators ought to be able to hold their own in the future.