Verizon Feels They're 8-10 Years Ahead Of Cable

[Commentary] Pike and Fischer analyst Scott Sleek had this to say in a recent blog post: "The CableLabs project would represent yet another attempt by the industry to implement new bandwidth optimization technologies that would keep the hybrid fiber coax network architecture functional for years to come. But cable operators and other broadband service providers in general have a track record of underestimating future bandwidth needs. It is reasonable to assume that within the next three to five years, cable operators will need to have migration strategies in place to move to either deeper fiber or all-fiber infrastructures." Of course Verizon, who recently said they were testing 10 Gbps FiOS (despite claiming even 100 Mbps was marketing hype) likes the sound of that. In a blog post, the telco takes the analysis to mean they have a nice head start on the cable industry: "Verizon was visionary when we chose more than 5 years ago to take fiber all the way to the home. If Sleek is right, Verizon is 8-10 years ahead of cable. Nice place to be." While Verizon deserves credit for being the only major U.S. player with the guts to stand up to myopic investors and seriously deploy fiber to the home, Verizon's not acknowledging the whole picture. Do the millions of people in Verizon markets the company either sells to cash-strapped companies or plans to leave on last-generation 3-7 Mbps DSL for years feel a decade ahead of the curve?