Levin: Migration To Net Video Could Be Foreseen As Inevitable

Top Federal Communications Commission broadband plan advisor Blair Levin suggested Tuesday that it was foreseeable back in the mid-1990's -- when he was at the FCC under then Chairman Reed Hundt -- that the Internet was going to supplant broadcasting and traditional cable video service.

"In 1994, you could envision as inevitable the Internet replacing existing platforms for communications and entertainment," he said in a speech to the American Cable Association policy summit in Washington. "And based on numerous metrics, that transformation is well underway," he said. What he said was not as clear was who was going to provide that access -- it turned out to be cable in this country. And he at least had some encouraging words for that medium. "[G]iven that the cost of upgrading the performance of the cable platform from DOCSIS 2.0 to DOCSIS 3.0 is significantly lower than the telcos' cost to upgrade, it is likely -- though not inevitable-that cable will increase its lead," he said. But that means the cable industry needs to focus on those so-called "over the top" video offerings online. He basically gave cable credit for investing in providing online service. He also said cable should be in the best position in most cases to provide the massive bandwidth needed to deliver over-the-top video.