In this morning’s Denver Post, John Malone, chairman of Colorado-based Liberty Media said, “Cable has come through technologically in great shape relative to its competitors.  The telcos, unless they’re willing to spend a massive amount of capital – like (Verizon Communications’) Fios has – have run out of steam in terms of the speed of their Internet capabilities.  The real issue, I think, for cable right now, at least in the US is regulatory.  John is clearing talking about the residential market here, but cable companies like Comcast have definitely begun to stir the pot when it comes to high bandwidth Internet service in the commercial space also.

Mr. Malone goes on to state in this article that it is entirely feasible that government may choose to open these networks up and could possibly tell the cable operators that they can no longer bundle video, broadband Internet and phone service together.  With the potential merger between Comcast and NBC there will clearly be additional discussion about this in many circles.

For those of us in the technology community the discussion constantly comes up – is Comcast or the other cable providers a better option for my business vs. going with a traditional telecom company like Qwest, AT&T and Verizon or even CLECs like XO, Integra or CBeyond?  My answer was clear in the early days – I would never have suggested it.  Run your voice over a cable network – are you crazy?  Today, we’ve seen many single location businesses take advantage of Comcast for their voice and Internet needs.  Occasionally they might even opt to get a video connection and place a few TV sets in their lobby for guests to few CNBC or FOX News.  For a small business it’s really not a bad option to consider.  For mid size and larger multi location companies I don’t think they’re the best fit as WAN concerns need to be taken into consideration.

If your business if evaluating options for your voice and data service, get with a carrier agnostic agency to help you review all of the options available.

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