We have been hearing a lot lately about how well the cable TV companies are performing in the telephony business. As telcos launch themselves into competition with cable TV companies, the consensus is that they will need to do something better and/or different than the entrenched cable firms to succeed.

The trouble has been that nobody knows what that differentiator should be. Is it user-generated content? Web-based content? Content sharing? The development of the networked home?

It could be all three and more, and though AT&T's Homezone service, which became widely available today, may not yet offer a full realization of everything telcos need to do to compete in this new business, it's a start. If Homezone makes a difference, it could even give other telcos' IPTV offerings a new direction.

The funny thing is that Homezone doesn't promise loads of fiber-fed bandwidth. It just promises interesting new toys, and if users start having fun with those toys, you have to wonder how it will affect those much-heralded fiber upgrade projects.

E-mail me at doshea@telephonyonline.com.