Issue Briefs
Pennsylvania's cable industry…a snapshot
March, 2007
Broadband cable is more than you might expect... and it is increasingly demanded by consumers as new services are offered to Pennsylvania residents, schools, medical facilities, businesses and governmental entities.
The broadband cable industry's pride in Pennsylvania runs deep. Cable was born in our state nearly sixty years ago and represents one of the most popular consumer technologies in our country's history. Today, Pennsylvania's broadband cable operators employ more than 11,000 people throughout the Commonwealth. And those same cable companies, equipment suppliers and programmers have combined to invest billions of dollars in service and product enhancements for the Pennsylvania customers they serve.
Four of the top 20 cable companies in the United States are headquartered here: Comcast, Service Electric, Armstrong and Pencor (Blue Ridge). Pennsylvania also features the greatest number of customers served by smaller, independent cable operators - more than 1.2 million. These lesser-known and, quite literally, "small town" cable systems are just as critical in providing broadband service to the remote hills and valleys of our state.
The numbers clearly confirm that Pennsylvania is indeed a cable state. Households in the commonwealth choose broadband cable significantly more frequently than the national average - more than 75 percent, higher than most states of comparable size and population, including California, Florida, Illinois, Ohio and Texas.
Longstanding relationships with local municipalities, and ongoing community involvement, have played a huge role in the industry's decades-old success and popularity. In Pennsylvania, with small independent operators again serving more customers than in any other state, cable is a local business. Pennsylvania's cable systems produce local news and sports programming; deliver community information while fully funding PCN, the nation's premier state public affairs network; and offer free video service and a free cable modem to virtually all primary and secondary schools (public, private and parochial) in the state.
Franchise agreements have, and continue to, pave the way for one of America's most successful marriages of business and local government. Additionally, franchise agreements embody that localism, and other legitimate municipal interests. These include requirements for universal service, nondiscrimination, construction standards, zoning, aesthetics, and public safety. The balance struck by the federal cable statute for franchising recognizes that these matters are best left to local officials that know their community...and negotiate video services for municipal taxpayers. The arrangement is one of Pennsylvania's most productive models of business and government working for the good of the state’s citizenry.
This is just a snapshot of our growing industry that, again, provides for thousands of jobs and full-service solutions for the business community while enhancing lifestyles of consumers from Greene County to Pike... from Erie to Philadelphia. But, as the new millennium recently welcomed us into an enormous period of technological growth, it is not "business as usual" any longer. As demand for technology-based products and services grow, perhaps no other industry has kept pace as competitively as cable - particularly here in Pennsylvania. In fact, we are in the unique position to meet and exceed the demand of the state's consumers.
It is a whole new ballgame, to be sure. The industry traditionally known for providing the most reliable television signal to millions of Pennsylvania homes has, as you know, more than expanded its product portfolio. Following passage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, Pennsylvania's cable industry invested more than $6 billion to upgrade and digitize networks. That's nearly $1,700 invested for every cable customer…a massive effort underscoring our companies' commitment to create and offer new broadband services for the state's consumers.
The video signal is, of course, still delivered. But it represents only a part of what we promote as a three-pronged resource of communication, information and entertainment. Voice, video and data now flow through the hundreds of thousands of miles of broadband pipe connecting Pennsylvania homes and businesses.
Our video product menu has become increasingly digital, with On Demand services and High Definition televisions rapidly becoming commonplace in more and more Pennsylvania homes. That trend is very evident in the greater Harrisburg area, a region served by Comcast and ranked as one of the nation’s leading users of Video On Demand service. Again, Pennsylvanians are demanding these products, and the industry has delivered in a big way.
But at the same time...Pennsylvanians recognize a value when they see it. An important attraction of digital cable is the cost, combined with the convenience. Unlike satellite, there is no expensive equipment to buy...no long-term contracts, no hidden costs...and all local channels are included in digital cable packages.
The data label applies to our high speed Internet component, now enjoyed by more than 1,200,000 state residents and available to the vast majority of Pennsylvania households. Broadband "high speed" cable technology enables homework research, family photos and business applications to be downloaded faster than any service available residentially. Cable's fiber optic broadband platform makes it an ideal medium for transmitting vast amounts of information at speeds that are 50 to 100 times faster than telephone-based modem technologies, and noticeably faster than DSL.
Finally, digital voice communications connect your telephone with broadband cable to round out the third prong of today’s most sought-after technological services. Through digital voice technology, cable is providing innovative, high value, facilities-based residential and business phone service at competitive prices. The services provided by this booming technology are varied and popular, ranging from voice-enabled instant messaging and chat, to voice-enabled gaming, to cutting-edge features not available on an antiquated copper telephone network. This landmark technology stands in stark contrast to what was available to Pennsylvanians as little as five years ago.
This is broadband cable in Pennsylvania today...an industry contributing significantly to the financial health of the Commonwealth while providing important services like high speed Internet to thousands of our state's schools, libraries, medical facilities and community centers, as well as businesses and homes.
For all Pennsylvanians, it means greater choice…more channels, more original programming and more advanced service options. In short, Pennsylvania's economy is benefiting from more jobs, capital investment, and innovation while Pennsylvania consumers have more choice, convenience, and control.
- More than 11,000 Pennsylvanians are employed by broadband cable operators in the state
- Pennsylvania cable operators pay more than $90 million annually in franchise fees to local municipalities
- There are more than 3,600,000 broadband cable video customers in Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania cable operators have invested more than $6 billion in broadband technology since 1996 - nearly $1,700 per customer
- More than 2,500 primary and secondary schools receive free service from Pennsylvania cable operators
- Four of the nation's top 20 cable companies are headquartered in Pennsylvania: Comcast, Service Electric, Armstrong and Pencor (Blue Ridge)
- Pennsylvania's cable companies provide 100 percent funding and support for Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN), the nation’s premier state public affairs network
- Pennsylvania's broadband cable industry represents an annual employee payroll of more than $680 million
© 2010 Broadband Cable Association of Pennsylvania