Reimagining the cable industry by unlocking the power of software-defined networking, AI and edge computing

The cable industry has evolved from being an aggregator of broadcast channels to a distributor of streaming, becoming a major force in media and entertainment. Consumer behavior has pushed traditional cable companies to prioritize broadband as their premium service. To stay relevant, cable companies are working to refine their strategy, focusing on bandwidth, latency and intelligent content features. Networks are now evolving with disaggregated software architecture and software-defined networking (SDN) strategies, reducing costs, speeding up service deployment and integrating AI.

This evolution from being hardware-centric to software-defined is crucial as cable providers face challenges like user churn, fluctuating traffic, the rise of digital media and streamers, modernization complexity, latency, data sovereignty, security concerns and unfavorable ROI. However, these challenges present major opportunities – not just in homes but also in the enterprise and B2B sectors. Imagine a future where cable companies are not just connectivity and content providers but architects of advanced edge and AI-driven services in businesses and homes alike. Envision gaming experiences seamlessly integrated into home networks, autonomous systems that anticipate individual consumer needs and intellectual caching that optimizes content delivery on a personal level.

This vision is achievable through a software-defined framework, which can drive innovation, efficiency and better customer experiences. Let’s talk about how we’re going to get there, together.

Maximizing scalability and ROI by leveraging AI and edge technologies for new opportunities and sustainable growth

Scalability is crucial in remaining competitive. We talked earlier about what the future could look like for consumers at home, but there’s also a ton of B2B opportunities for cable providers that will help deliver ROI faster than ever. Some examples can include: managed network services (corporate VPNs), TV solutions for businesses (bulk hotel subscriptions), cloud-based services, unified communication solutions (video conferencing) and IoT solutions (remote monitoring) and more. But to get there, cable providers need to leverage edge and AI technologies with a platform that is consistent and reliable from the core to the edge.

By using small AI language models at the edge, cable companies gain the ability to leverage solutions that can make autonomous and intelligent decisions for businesses or individual users, based on their likes, dislikes and more, for a streamlined experience to the edge of the network. Other benefits can include:

• Optimal network efficiency with AI-driven analytics that can predict traffic patterns, allowing for more dynamic resource allocation and reduced network congestion during peak times;
• Near-zero latency by using edge computing to bring processing power closer to the end user;
• Cost savings by automating routine tasks and network performance;
• Support for new services like next-gen media experiences, smart home management, autonomous cashing and more;
• Predictive maintenance and security via AI at the edge to monitor network health and detect anomalies in real time while increasing cybersecurity defenses.

And while cable companies work on expanding these services, sustainability has to stay top of mind. AI processors at the edge means you’ll need significant power resources so cable providers need a platform that is optimized for power efficiency for constrained edge environments. This not only helps organizations total cost of ownership (TCO), but it also provides a better user experience by having services at the edge for a better performance of streaming services.

Red Hat and our ecosystem is here to deliver on this promise

Red Hat is collaborating closely with our ecosystem partners to turn this vision into reality by driving innovation across SDN and edge computing. Together, we're building open, flexible platforms that integrate AI, enhance network intelligence and streamline service deployment. By leveraging our open source expertise, we're enabling cable providers to adapt quickly to evolving consumer demands and enterprise needs, transforming the industry and paving the way for new B2B opportunities and advanced, personalized services. Here are a few examples:

CableLabs: Red Hat and CableLabs are working together to ensure that native and virtualized workloads and DOCSIS® technologies are aligned across the industry to allow cable operators flexibility and choice. Red Hat OpenShift is CableLabs’s platform for their 10G Lab that includes their 5G challenge workloads that are imperative in their work towards a fully converged, multi-tenant, distributed access architecture to support DOCSIS 4.0 technology.

Intel: Red Hat is working with Intel to on-board and deploy media-related services quickly, efficiently and with cost in mind on Intel’s Converged Edge Media Platform (CEMP). With Intel’s CEMP and Red Hat OpenShift, cable providers can benefit from:

• A streamlined workload deployment with optimized hardware utilization that reduces TCO;
• Platform-aware plug-ins and policies that are tuned for media applications with the necessary elasticity to address fluctuating traffic demands and deliver new and diverse services.

NVIDIA: Red Hat is working with NVIDIA to integrate Red Hat OpenShift with NVIDIA Holoscan for Media, a platform that allows live media pipelines to run on the same infrastructure as AI. Holoscan for Media aims to help unify the broadcast landscape from disparate devices speaking unique media languages to enable streaming live into a horizontal platform, powered by NVIDIA’s accelerated computing.

As the cable industry continues to evolve, the future lies in embracing software-defined networks, AI and edge technologies to drive innovation and deliver personalized experiences for both consumers and businesses. By harnessing these tools, cable providers can unlock new revenue streams, enhance network efficiency and offer cutting-edge services that meet the ever-growing demands of today’s digital landscape. Red Hat and our ecosystem of partners are committed to empowering the cable industry to achieve this transformation, ensuring scalable, sustainable growth that sets the stage for long-term success.