Within the next five years, the cost of energy to power the U.S. cable industry will become the single largest network cost component. In addition, projected energy requirements driven by accelerating demand for bandwidth, storage, and processing capacity will outstrip reliable supply from traditional sources in a number of regions and markets in the next few years.

To optimize both their strategic planning efforts and the timing of various initiatives in support of strategic decisions, cable operators must establish a decision navigation infrastructure to support initial energy decision-making as well as to provide a framework for adapting as circumstances change.