I never said that the Cable/Telcos would be good at it, nor that they have a sustainable model. But it's still what's coming. And you are right.... they are encroaching into physical security now primarily to open up other revenue streams to battle weakening positions due to their own market disruptions.
However, I find the real irony to be in the fact that traditional physical security has overtly ignored this segment for decades, simply because the channel business model made it financially impractical to service - and now all the industry pundits are openly endorsing entry into the space for integrators looking for 'new' markets. :)
Beyond the irony though, I think that recommendation is flawed anyway.
The key value drivers that integrators represent to end users are their skills, reputation, experience and knowledge that the end user can rely on to provide them with quality security solutions. End users in situations where security is paramount (the traditional physical security space) see this value and will pay for it. Resi/SMB - since they either aren't looking for a real security solution, or they want it, but don't have the Cap Ex to afford it - will never see the value.
The Pain Equation:
Low-end, inferior equipment + low-end, inferiorly-skilled end users = Nothing any integrator wants