Cable TV networks were first established to provide broadcast services. The availability of cable TV networks varies from country to country. In some countries, like the Netherlands and Belgium, this service is available to 80-90% of the households. In some countries this service is only available in major housing complexes, while other countries are virtually uncovered.
The ownership structure is also very different in different countries and in different areas. Sometimes the networks are owned by local communities, sometimes by the municipalities and sometimes by private companies, including the incumbent operators.
The networks are built for distribution of TV signals and the capacity in the local loop is therefore higher than in the copper-based telecom networks. However, the networks are designed for carrying distributive services only and have no switching capabilities. Furthermore, the capacity is not dimensioned to carry different signals to every user. If upgraded, cable networks are able to provide a higher capacity, but in contrast to xDSL users, they do not have their own channel all the way to the local exchange. This implies that the speed will be reduced if many users are connected at the same time.
The total costs for cable TV networks are somewhat lower than for a copper-based telecom network. The costs for an upgrade in order to provide data services are comparable with those for upgrade of telecom networks to xDSL. However, the share of fixed costs is lower.
In particular in high density areas, cable networks can offer a cost efficient alternative to xDSL services. In 2003, cable provided 37% of all broadband access connections. As the availability of this service is much lower than that of xDSL, the market share is higher than for xDSL in those areas where this technology is available.