The Cincinnati Enquirer wrote a realistic article about Cincinnati Bell gearing up to Internet-based TV. The article discusses the hurdles ahead for Cincinnati Bell. The company has traditionally been a telephone company, but with telephone subscription numbers decreasing and increasing competition from VOIP companies, the company must dive into the TV market to hopefully become a one-stop shop for telecommunications needs.

Cincinnati Bell plans to begin test-marketing IPTV by October. Bell officials say that they are in the process of upgrading their network to handle the bandwidth required to carry video signals. The initial cost estimates for that were between $20 million and $30 million, but they believe the final bill will probably be less than that. With that upgrade, about two-thirds of Bell's total customer base will be in range to get the new service.



“By October, the downtown-based regional telecommunications company plans to begin test-marketing Internet Protocol television, or IPTV, a technology that uses high-speed phone lines to transmit video with digital quality and even high-definition video and audio to individual customers.”

“If the test is successful, Bell could start rolling it out to the region by the beginning of next year, says company president and chief executive officer Jack Cassidy.”

Read the rest of the article.