The role of service provider has undergone significant change in the last decade and the rate of that change will continue to escalate. Gone, or certainly blurred, are the distinctions between a "Carrier", an Internet Service Provider (ISP), a Hosted Service Provider (HSP), and Cable Operator. As this competitive landscape continues to blur all of these Service Providers will be competing for the same customers while delivering similar service packages.

The challenge for all service providers is to develop products that make use of their existing infrastructure to increase the average revenue per user (ARPU) and increase the customer base, while reducing the costs for delivering the service over that infrastructure.