BBWN Bites: Verizon, Spectrum Top Netflix Tier-One Speed Rankings
Also today, Boris's broadband goal gets no love in Parliament, Roku delivers for Apple fans, Tubi targets UK and kids, Rakuten TV brings freebie ad-supported service, Chile seeks tenders for national fiber infrastructure project and meet Net Insight's new CEO.
Verizon's fiber and Spectrum's DOCSIS infrastructure delivered the fastest Netflix streams among tier 1 operators -- with both operators' neck-and-neck at 4.52 Mbit/s on average, according to Netflix's September 2019 ISP Speed Index. Cable operators Cox, Comcast and Optimum (Altice USA) rounded out the top five. However, when smaller ISPs were included, the top five featured Hotwire, GVTC Fiber, Fidelity Fiber, Blue Stream and Metronet. All but Blue Stream, which uses both fiber and DOCSIS, rely solely on fiber in that grouping of smaller ISPs, Netflix said.
Heating Up Netflix Delivery
These large ISPs delivered Netflix at the highest speeds in the US, according to the video service. Numerous smaller providers were faster but had a much smaller reach.
(Source: Netflix)
Despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson's proposal to crisscross the country with full-fiber by 2025 (versus the original 2033 goal), the UK government did not promise to meet this ambitious goal when it met after the Queen's Speech yesterday. Rather, ministers want to deploy "gigabit-capable" speeds without any particular end date, the BBC reported. UK operators mainly lauded Johnson's goal and said it was feasible -- if government eased taxes and restrictions.
Starting today, the Apple TV app is available on the Roku platform. Roku users simply go to the Roku Channel Store and download the Apple TV app to access their iTunes video library and subscribe to Apple TV channels. Beginning November 1, Apple TV+ also will be available on the Apple TV app on Roku, allowing Roku users to access the new subscription SVoD service, which will feature Apple's original shows and movies, via their device.
Ad-supported VoD streaming service Tubi plans to launch in the UK early next year, with additional territories to follow as part of its projected strategy to rapidly grow internationally. The AVoD service also expects to debut Tubi Kids on October 21, with more than 1,200 age-appropriate movies and TV shows in 5,000-plus hours of content on launch date. Tubi Kids is free in a dedicated section created just for families, Tubi said.
Video-on-demand provider Rakuten TV today launched ad-supported video-on-demand channels within its platform, a new business model designed to allow viewers to watch an array of content at no charge. This free section of Rakuten TV will debut with an initial slate of Hollywood and local content, which Rakuten expects to expand with exclusive Rakuten content, TV series, documentaries, plus news and sports.
Chile Divides Infrastructure Project Into Six Divisions
The Chilean government's recently released request for bids to deploy nationwide fiber optic broadband takes into account the country's multiple terrains, from urban to ocean to mountain.
(Photo Sources: Pexels)
Chile's telecommunications' government agency -- Subsecretaria de Telecomunicaciones, Subtel -- recently released a tender for a national fiber optic project intended to deploy about 10,000 kilometers (6,200-plus miles) of fiber across the country. The government has allocated about $120 million toward the program, which is divided into six geographic regions. Bids are due Jan. 7, 2020; winners will be announced in March 2020.
Net Insight appointed Crister Fritzson CEO, announcing he will assume this role in the first half of 2020. Fritzson, who has extensive experience in telecom and broadcasting, currently is CEO and group CEO of SJ AB. He replaces current Net Insight CEO Henrik Sund, who plans to leave the company this fall.
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— Alison Diana, Editor, Broadband World News. Follow us on Twitter or @alisoncdiana.
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Here's where you can find episode links for 'The Divide,' Light Reading's podcast series featuring conversations with broadband providers and policymakers working to close the digital divide.
As we have for the past two years, Light Reading will present our Cable Next-Gen Europe conference as a free digital symposium on June 21.
Charter has sparked RDOF work in all 24 states where it won bids. The cable op booked about $19 million in RDOF revenues in Q1, and expects to have about $9 million per month come in over the next ten years.
As we have for the past two years, Light Reading will stage the Cable Next-Gen Technologies & Strategies conference as a free digital event over two half-days in mid-March.
Launch of 2-Gig and 5-Gig FTTP tiers in 70-plus markets puts more pressure on cable ops to enhance their existing DOCSIS 3.1 network or accelerate their upgrade activity centered on the new DOCSIS 4.0 specs.
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