At his CES keynote speech Tuesday, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts promised 100 Megabit cable internet by 2009 and Project Infinity, an endlessly adaptable smorgasbord of on-demand choice.
Photo: Associated Press / Paul Sakuma
"Super-fast movie downloads are only the beginning," Roberts said. "This will open a whole new world of web-based innovation."
Docsis 3.0, the channel-bonding tech that makes such speeds possible, will already be available in certain markets by the end of the year.
Comcast intents to adopt an open-access model to compete directly with the uncurated internet: free content, subscription content and pay per view would all have a place in the Project.
"It's the content hungry consumer's dream," Roberts said.
"With user-generated content, there's the possibility of millions of choices. You'll never want to get off the couch."
Comcast's On Demand service has already made it the largest provider of mostly-free on-demand TV shows and movies in the world. The system receives 275 million requests a month, and has served over 6
billion shows, movies and clips. By the end of 2008, Roberts said, there will be more than 1000 HD "choices" on On Demand.
Joined on-stage by Ryan Seacrest, the pair also launched
FanCast.com, a service that lets users search for and "manage"
collections of digital entertainment on the internet, seeded with clips and episodes from TV networks and movie studios. A presentation depicted it downloading a movie at 160 Megabits per second, completing its transfer in just four minutes and underlining Comcast's planned investment in the Docsis 3.0 modem technology.
Other news from the keynote:
• Roberts promised to improve customer service standards at
Comcast: "We want to get it right the first time. And if we don't, to show respect to our customers."
Comcast will make the consumer King and "fess up" whenever it was at fault.
• Toshihiro Sakamoto of Panasonic joined Roberts on-stage to introduice AnyPlay, a portable DVR and DVD player.
• Tru2Way is the new name for Comcast's "open" standards system.
"The age of the closed, proprietary cable box is behind us," Roberts said, suggesting that cable-decoding hardware will soon be integrated into many devices. Microsoft is working on making Windows natively compatible.
• Smartzone, Comcast's web-based email, will hook into your
VoIP voicemail -- the latter ends up in your email box as well as your phone, and can be replied to.
• Earlier today, Comcast announced that it was now America's fourth-largest phone service provider, thanks to bundling VoIP with its data and TV plans.
