By Jeff Kagan August 23, 2024
Collected at: https://www.rcrwireless.com/20240823/network-infrastructure/kagan-air5-aims-to-revitalize-cable-tv-broadband-with-5g-wireless
Yesterday, a new company with a breakthrough idea popped up on my radar. If it works as advertised, Air5 technology could be a solution for the cable television industry to help restart growth in their broadband business — a sector that is being targeted by new technology and new competitors.
Air5 CEO Jeff Brown and his senior executive team pre-briefed me about their announcement of new and disruptive 5G standards-based technology to help the cable TV industry. They are blending DOCSIS and 5G wireless. They say the result would create a more efficient and better performing wireless broadband service.
This new technology is designed to let cable television companies harmonize their older DOCSIS broadband ecosystems with newer 5G wireless.
This appears to be an attempt to drag their older DOCSIS technology into the future by blending it with 5G wireless broadband technology.
Who is Air5?
Air5 started earlier this year in Palo Alto, California. Their 5G standards-based technology harmonize different broadband ecosystems from wireless and wired cable broadband to offer a more vibrant environment for the development of mobile solutions and strategies to improve both customer retention and growth.
Brown says this new concept let’s a 5G-based network seamlessly share cables hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) with the industries current DOCSIS standard. And it will empower a new wave of growth and innovation for cable and wireless operators.
They say by aligning wireless and wired broadband networks into a single, cohesive 5G infrastructure, their architecture will be a more innovative and interconnected mobile solution. It will also increase capabilities.
Air5 co-founders Dr. Jan Uddenfeldt and Lorenz Glatz are behind the design of today’s leading technology standards used across the wireless and cable industries. Sudhir Ispahani is executive chairman of Air5.
The Air5 Advisory Board includes Glenn Lurie of AT&T, Synchronoss and currently a venture partner with Stormbreaker Ventures. Kip Compton of Cisco and Comcast. Marwan Fawaz a cable TV executive also worked with Motorola, Google and Charter. Vish Mishra, managing director for BlueVine and general partner with Clearstone Venture Partners.
This leadership team will fuel the big idea to disrupt wired broadband from cable. To help cable television industry start to grow again.
Traditional cable TV is at an inflection point on its growth wave
You see, FWA and 5G wireless broadband from wireless networks like AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon is a new threat to the cable TV industry.
In fact, this new Air5 technology which helps the cable industry, sounds like the reverse of the way FWA helps wireless carriers offer mobile broadband.
Today, traditional cable TV networks now face a serious and significant challenge.
Many customers and investors are surprised to hear that today, the primary service of the cable television industry is no longer cable TV.
As competition from new technologies like streaming entered the picture, the market share of traditional cable TV has been dropping.
Today, the main service is broadband. The traditional cable TV market is shrinking and has been for the last decade or two.
As market share declines, smaller cable TV providers are being forced out of the space altogether.
Cable TV broadband being backed into a corner with FWA and 5G wireless
In addition to wired broadband, cable TV providers also offer wireless phone service, wireless data, streaming and more.
Today, the cable TV industry is also facing a new threat. FWA or Fixed Wireless Access is a technology being used by the wireless carriers to offer 5G wireless broadband services.
This competes with traditional wire line broadband being offer by cable TV providers. And this is increasingly painting the cable television industry into a corner.
This is a real, immediate and escalating problem that needs to be solved today.
Yet, we have not seen or heard much from the cable TV industry on this.
Air5 is striking while the iron is hot with cable TV wireless broadband
Looking at it from today’s perspective, this Air5 technology could be a real solution.
Timing is right. I believe Air5 technology is striking while the iron is hot. Their customer, the cable TV industry needs new ideas, and new thinking to fuel growth once again.
I do not yet fully understand how Air5 technology works. That being said, I do know timing is key. And today, the timing is right for a solution.
Brown says the Air5 plan is to enter trials in the lab later in 2024. Then to have field trials and ultimately initial deployments next year.
How quickly Air5 tech grows depends on the cable TV industry
The pace of Air5 growth depends on the cable television operators and how quickly they want to move.
In the past, they moved forward like molasses. Perhaps, as the problem of lost broadband customers to the wireless industry grows, it will push this to the front burner as a solution.
Then, once cable TV providers jump in, and if it works as advertised, this could set off a chain reaction of other companies jumping in quickly.
Comcast Xfinity, Charter Spectrum, Altice, Optimum, Cox and more
In today’s world of wireless, cable TV, telecom, Internet, broadband and more, growth seems to be around disruption.
If successful, there is a large market of companies which can utilize their new approach and ideas. Companies like Comcast Xfinity, Charter Spectrum, Altice, Optimum, Cox and more. Increasingly, they both compete with and work with wireless carriers like Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T and more.
Plus, why wouldn’t network builders be interested as well? Companies like Qualcomm, Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia and so much more. Plus, there are countless smaller wireless, telecom, broadband, cable TV competitors as well.
Air5 is a brand-new company with a new idea to solve a growing problem for cable TV. I will follow them and share what I learn.
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