Comcast announced that week at CES that it has surpassed first Vonage and now Embarq, to become the fourth largest residential phone service provider in the U.S., behind Verizon, AT&T, and Quest. According to CEO Brian L. Roberts, Comcast is the fastest growing residential phone service in the country, now offering its triple play of voice, video, and broadband Web access to by 40 million households.

Comcast likes to point out that they are not like the independent pure play service providers, in that they use their own private network, not the Net to route their VoIP calls. Wait a minute! Just how far reaching is their network? While it is true they have more control of QOS and such on calls within their pipe, once the packets go off network, they are subject to all the instabilities of any other voice traffic on the Net.

Also announced were three new features to

be integrated into the triple play:

• Universal Caller ID allows subscribers to see caller data on their phone, TV, and computer.
• The Smart Zone™ Communications Center as a web base app will let you manage e mail, voicemail, and a universal contact list on any computer anywhere, with remotely programmable DVR’s coming soon. How cool is that?
• Comcast has additionally come out with a new gadget: the Enhanced Cordless Telephone lets you access e mail, voicemail, the yellow pages, your universal address book, and even has instant messaging capabilities. Visit Rich Tehrani’s Blog for a closer look at Comcast’s Enhanced Cordless Phone.

Yes, telecom conglomerates better take heed as the sleeping giant awakens nipping at their heels. With four million CDV subscribers and counting, the face of the marketplace - it is a changin’!

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Original post by editor