CenturyTel joins local digital television competition

George Carney, general manager of Century Tel stands on top of the company’s building in Columbia.

The newest competitor providing digital television service in Columbia re-opens its showroom later this month at the northeast corner of Cherry and 7th Street downtown. Yes, that’s been the office of the city’s telephone company, CenturyTel, since it took over from Verizon in 2002.

But it’s a sign of the times in the telecommunications business, in which telephone companies, cable providers and satellite services are all encroaching on each other’s traditional territories.

“It’s a very competitive market, and all this competition is good for consumers,” said Phyllis Peters, communications director for Mediacom.
Another big development is the elimination of analog television next February, which will hasten the already fast movement toward high-definition digital television, or HDTV.

“Now that all the TV’s are going digital, analog TV’s will not work without a converter box as of February ’09,” said John Kendrick, wireless consultant for Mid-America Wireless, an Internet and mobile provider that also offers DISH Network and DirecTV services. “You also can’t get HDTV on an analog TV as of February ’09. Even with the converter you get ED or enhanced definition TV.”

CenturyTel is now competing with cable and satellite companies by offering Microsoft IPTV, Internet protocol television, through its existing telephone wires in Columbia.

The downtown CenturyTel location, currently being remodeled, will re-open on July 21 with various IPTV displays. They will hold the store’s official grand re-opening the first week of August.

CenturyTel, which operates in 25 states and is the seventh-largest local exchange carrier in the United States based on access lines served, announced last year that it intended to use Columbia as a test market for IPTV. But the roll-out was complicated by uncertainty among existing franchise fee laws and negotiations with city officials until Gov. Matt Blunt signed a video franchise bill into law. The new law allows video distribution companies to apply to the Missouri Public Service Commission, rather than individual municipalities, for permission to provide service.

“We’re seeing some good growth in this product,” said George Carney, CenturyTel’s general manager in Columbia, said. “What we’re offering is a new technology. There are all sorts of features that come with it, and more coming out of the lab.”

Some of the IPTV features Carney speaks of include: local and movie channels in HD, all-digital quality, video caller identification, the quad play DVR (digital video recorder), which can record four shows simultaneously, and a cutting-edge navigation system that can find any actor or artist at any moment via a search. All features are available with bundled packages: combined telephone, Internet and TV services, also known as the triple play.

“Almost all companies bundle anymore,” Carney said. “It’s very comparative and competitive, and it all depends on the bundle.”
But as some Boone County residents have been discovering, bundling doesn’t always apply in rural areas. Services such as IPTV, which is only available to customers with DSL Internet capabilities, aren’t an option for those who only get dial-up.

“Last fall we started making the service available,” Carney said. “We completed the final phase as of June 30, and now the service is available to about 85-90 percent of Columbia. Right now we do not have any plans to expand until we get our feet under us. We have to have a device within 4,000 feet of the customer to use the telephone line. We have had to place a lot of fiber and we will explore covering the last 10-to-15 percent in the coming months.”

Mid-America Wireless does not bundle Internet and telephone services with its satellite services.

“It’s not really possible for us because AT&T doesn’t get the Internet in town,” Kendrick said. “Other companies may have the advantage that they can bundle, but with satellite you get more high definition channels, and more bang for your buck. Also, you can’t get high speed Internet with a dial-up connection, so if you would want to bundle, it wouldn’t be possible. That’s where we come in.”

Mediacom, which does offer bundling, currently offers 10 HD channels, including the three local network affiliates, and the public TV station. The company added KQFX-FOX and two other HD channels this year, and plans to add TBS HD by the end of July.

“High definition is our future and we’re continuing to roll out additional high-def offerings,” Randy Hollis, Mediacom’s government relations manager, said.

“Everybody is saying that high-definition is the best thing that’s happened to TV since color,” Peters, the Mediacom communications director, said. Once you see it, it’s hard to go back. If you make that kind of investment in the format, you want the maximum amount of features.”

A significant move by Mediacom this year was the addition of on-demand movies, new releases in HD format, similar to DISH Network’s Pay-Per-View system but with more offerings. There are hundreds of movies available for $2.99 or $3.99, and the lineup is updated periodically.

The first quarter of ‘08 resulted in the highest growth ever for Mediacom, adding 25,000 more digital customers (those receiving DVR and/or HDTV services) than in the same quarter of ’07.

When it comes to HD, Mediacom said its strategy is to focus first on what people are watching the most, take the most highly viewed channels, and make it affordable. However, Peters added that value is not always correlated strictly by price, but by Internet speed, local TV station availability, and what is or is not included, such as features as free or add-on costs.

Last Spring, Mediacom increased the speed of its fastest Internet service from 15 megabytes per second download and 1 mbps upload, to 20 mbps download and 2 mbps upload. Peters said “that is the highest speed Internet service available.”