What compelled Cisco to acquire Scientific-Atlanta?
We want to be an end-to-end provider of Internet Protocol [IP] TV. We’ve sold certain kinds of IPTV equipment in the past. This deal helps us round out our offerings, in areas such as set-top boxes. Will consumers notice any difference between IPTV and today’s TV? They’ll have to. People are generally pretty satisfied with their TV. So if you’re simply offering them a similar product for $5 less a month, they won’t switch. But if you offer them something new, they might. I grew up in Europe, and I’m a fan of European soccer. If IPTV allows me to watch European soccer games, I’m in. There’s a lot of debate about whether IPTV is on the way. Do you think it really will happen? We can have a legitimate debate about when IPTV will happen. But I think it’s a question of when, not if. How will IPTV be different than what’s currently available? It will be different in three ways. There will be a lot more user-created video, especially as consumer video recorders and editing technology get bett
