Destiny set to spend P250-M to expand cable Net business

Destiny Cable Inc., one of the country’s largest cable providers, has earmarked at least P250 million over a period of three years to expand its cable Internet business.

A pioneer in broadband cable Internet service, the company plans to invest in additional data equipment and back-end solutions, said Beda Mañalac, Destiny Cable spokesman.

The investments are meant to allow Destiny to expand its consumer cable Internet product by offering various service tiers.

"The additional equipment will enable Destiny to improve Internet service delivery and provide true broadband access to a wider market by offering Internet products that cater to an individual’s specific use and budget," Mañalac said.

A considerable chunk of the investment will be allocated for Destiny Cable’s gradual upgrade to the DOCSIS 1.1 system, DOCSIS-compliant cable modems and bandwidth management equipment.

A major benefit of operating a DOCSIS system is the interoperability of any DOCSIS-compliant modem, which will now be able to operate in Destiny’s system regardless of who the manufacturer is.

Aiming to add another feather to its cap by being the cable Internet provider in the country to be DOCSIS 1.1-compliant, Destiny at present utilizes a proprietary system, which is modem-specific.

And with a wider choice of DOCSIS-compliant modems soon to be available in the market, they become significantly cheaper than other proprietary modems being offered.

Furthermore, Destiny Cable is currently in discussion with major data equipment dealers for the provision of advanced bandwidth management equipment. This is meant to provide more equitable distribution of Internet bandwidth among its subscribers.

Cable Internet is based on a technology where subscribers access it utilizing a shared network. With the absence of proper bandwidth management, subscribers consistently downloading large files tend to deprive fellow users sharing the same network of valued bandwidth.

In addition to this, newer and popular Internet applications such as peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing will be more efficiently and effectively managed.

With the additional investment at hand and over half-a-billion pesos already invested, Destiny Cable reinforces its position as the only cable operator with the most technologically advanced network infrastructure in the country.

"This is proof of our relentless effort in delivering quality service to our subscribers at superior value. We remain committed in continuing and fulfilling these initiatives to both our Internet and cable TV subscribers," Mañalac said.

When asked about the future of its cable TV business, Mañalac said, "Destiny’s commitment is striving to give its cable TV subscribers the finest programming at a price much lower than the competition."

Destiny Cable lowered its monthly subscription fee late last year from P520 to P450 when the Star Television Network refused to renew its contract with them.

Mañalac also belied a recent report about the buy-out of Destiny by the Lopez-owned SkyCable. "We have not nor have entered into any definitive agreement at this time. Any article that you might have read about the matter is purely speculative," he said.