Call Forwarding: Cable Gets Aggressive with VoIP Rollouts

Mediacom will launch VoIP by the end of June, with a goal to market the service to some 1.5mln HHs passed by year-end and 2.5mln within 24 months. The site of the initial launch will be divulged on the MSO’s analyst call next Fri, MCCC sr dir of telephony Marco Rustici says. Not only will the rollout be aggressive, but VoIP eventually will be accompanied by mobile and video telephony, he tells Kagan Media Research’s VoIP summit. Sprint and Level 3 are providing backbone and support services to Mediacom’s phone rollout. — Comcast will convert the 1.2mln circuit-switched phone subs inherited from former AT&T Broadband systems to VoIP over the next 12-18 months, svp/gm of telephony Rian Wren says. The Hartford and Boston rollouts announced earlier this month will occur in May, followed by 13 launches nationwide in ’05. "You will see videophone efforts on the TV set from us down the road," Wren adds. — Cable ops ended ’04 with 520K total VoIP subs and $127mln in revenue tied to the service. For ’05, the outlook is 2.4mln cable VoIP subs generating $670mln in revenue. — Simon Applebaum