Cable Information Services (CIS) Primer

Overview
Cable Information Services (CIS) provides secure industry-wide data and information services to help cable companies prosper. CIS addresses the inherent inefficiencies of exchanging information between multiple cable companies and multiple business partners. Working with cable company experts, CIS develops standard interfaces and provides platforms to enable information exchange.



Our Services
The Go2Broadband and Cable Mover Hotline platforms have demonstrated that providing shared information services for the cable industry creates significant value in three key areas, illustrated below:



Interface Specifications

• Maximize competitive value through common industry specifications
• Leverage technology to enable industry operation as a single national entity

Platforms and Applications

• Provide shared implementation of industry standard specifications
• Provide cost reductions by consolidating common functions over a shared infrastructure
• Enable industry benchmarking
• Accelerate business and IT alignment, while supporting individual MSO business agreements and policies
• Provide a single industry technical roadmap with development priorities

Support Services

• Assure consistent interpretation of technical specifications
• Provide 24x7 support of hosted platforms and application
• Provide integration support for industry specification implementationss

Our Platforms
CIS includes two platforms that are currently serving the cable industry: Go2Broadband and Cable Mover Hotline.

Go2Broadband Platform
Go2Broadband (G2B) is the cable industry's automated national platform for service location, lead generation and statusing. G2B provides the ability to locate, quote, and order video, phone, and high-speed internet services at a national level by interacting with multiple MSO back-office systems in real-time. The major MSOs (representing 94% of the national footprint) and more than 500 affiliates currently participate in the G2B program.



The G2B process:

1. A customer at an affiliate site (retail kiosk or website) submits a query to G2B, requesting the availability of cable services for a specific address.
2. G2B contacts the participating MSO, who responds with information on its service offerings to the customer or affiliate.
3. After the customer views the cable service offerings, additional dynamic messages are used to enable the order to be placed directly with the MSO for activation and possibly appointment scheduling.

One of the key advantages of G2B is that the same message set and structure will work with all MSOs participating in G2B.

Cable Mover Hotline Platform
The Cable Mover Hotline is an easy-to-use resource that allows a Customer Service Representative in one community to route a caller to the cable system in the caller's destination market. With a single phone call, a customer can disconnect service at his or her current home and sign up for installation at a new residence in another market. The Cable Mover Hotline plays a critical role in cable industry retention, as it preserves relationships with hundreds of thousands of customers who are at risk of electing an alternative provider when they change residence.

Future Platforms and Projects
As future challenges and opportunities are presented to the cable industry, the Cable Information Services team will respond by using an established development process to deliver solutions that meet evolving business needs and assure continuous improvement. The CIS team's approach (see diagram below) to interface design and change management has been proven to support rapidly changing business environments.