Comcast 2015 Annual Report Download - page 8

provide to our residential cable services customers, our services for business customers include an inter-
active tool that allows customers to share, coordinate and store documents online, hosted voice services that
use cloud network servers, a business directory listing, and additional capacity for multiple phone lines.
We also offer to medium-sized businesses and large enterprises Ethernet network services that connect multi-
ple locations and provide higher downstream and upstream speed options, and we offer cellular backhaul
services to mobile network operators to help those customers manage network bandwidth.
The new enterprise service offering is designed to serve Fortune 1000 companies and other large nationwide
enterprises with multiple locations both in and outside of our cable distribution footprint. We service these
multiple locations through agreements we have with other cable companies and providers that allow us to
use their networks to fill in the gaps in our coverage areas.
Advertising
As part of our distribution agreements with cable networks, we generally receive an allocation of scheduled
advertising time on cable networks that our Spotlight business sells to local, regional and national advertisers.
In most cases, the available advertising units are sold by our sales force. In some cases, we work with repre-
sentation firms as an extension of our sales force to sell a portion of the advertising units allocated to us. We
also represent the advertising sales efforts of other multichannel video providers in some markets. In addition,
we generate revenue from the sale of advertising online and on our On Demand service.
Other Revenue Sources
We receive revenue related to cable franchise and other regulatory fees and from our home security and
automation services. Cable franchise and other regulatory fees represent the fees we are required to pay to
federal, state and local authorities that we pass through to our customers. Under the terms of our cable fran-
chise agreements, we are generally required to pay to the cable franchising authority an amount based on our
gross video revenue. Our home security and automation services provide our customers with home monitor-
ing services and the ability to manage other functions within the home, such as lighting and room
temperature, through our online portal or our mobile apps.
Technology
Our cable distribution system uses a hybrid fiber-optic and coaxial cable network that we believe is suffi-
ciently flexible and scalable to support our future technology requirements. This network provides the two-
way transmissions that are essential to providing interactive video services, such as On Demand, and high-
speed Internet and voice services. We are also leveraging our network to develop and deliver innovative
services to our customers efficiently and in an accelerated fashion.
We continue to focus on technology initiatives, such as:
• deploying and launching next-generation media and content delivery platforms, such
as our X1 platform and related Cloud DVR technology, that use IP technology and our
own cloud network servers to deliver video and advanced search capabilities, includ-
ing through a voice-activated remote control, and allow access to certain third-party
Internet applications
• deploying wireless gateways to improve the performance of multiple Internet-enabled
devices used at the same time within the home, provide faster Internet speeds and
create an in-home Wi-Fi network
5Comcast 2015 Annual Report on Form 10-K