Liberty Global’s Nair: Mobile, Wi-Fi Key Going Forward

NEW ORLEANS – If you thought maybe cable and fiber deployments were slowing, you’d be sorely mistaken.  SCTE’s annual Cable-Tec Expo kicked off Wednesday and there were plenty of industry executives on hand offering their insights on the future.
 
Tony Werner, executive vice president and CTO at Comcast Cable, said he sees a “fascinating future” on the horizon, one built on standards like DOCSIS 3.1 and driven by technologies like Fiber Deep and All-IP video.
 
Werner said the next evolution hinges on the kind of cooperation that is fostered by organizations like SCTE.
 
“The SCTE, really, really has been the cornerstone of this collegiality,” Werner said.            
 
Balan Nair, executive vice president and CTO of Liberty Global, echoed those comments, saying that his work in Europe has made him appreciate SCTE more, as Europe doesn’t have an equivalent organization.
 
“Wi-Fi becomes a bigger and bigger part of our story going forward,” Nair said, noting that while LTE and LTE-Advanced are important, people are increasingly spending the bulk of their time connected to a home Wi-Fi network.
 
In reviewing some of the more prevalent trends in the industry, Nair took some time to catch up the audience on Liberty Global’s work in Europe. As the company prepares to build out fiber to 10 million additional homes, Nair stressed the importance of Wi-Fi going forward.
 
Which isn’t to say Nair is ignoring mobile. He said that enabling mobile for Liberty Global’s customers is a top priority and that including mobile as part of bundle only increases stickiness for providers.
 
Nair cited remarkable growth for Liberty Global’s mobile segment. The company currently has about 4.5 million mobile subscribers and expects that number to nearly double by the first quarter of next year.