CED articles from April 2001

CED archives from April 2001

Raging bull?(good news for the cable industry)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Reading the newspaper hasn't been a very pleasant experience for the broadband industry lately. Pick up the business section of virtually any major metropolitan daily, and you're bombarded with bad news: stocks being pummeled; IPOs being put...

AT&T, Charter swap systems.(Charter Communications, cable television systems)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... AT&T Broadband will swap cable TV systems with Charter Communications in a $1.79 billion deal designed to cut AT&T's $46 billion debt load and cluster its cable systems in larger markets. Under the agreement, AT&T Broadband will get two...

BarcoNet teams with Path 1 for VOD.(Path 1 Network Technologies, video on demand)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... BarcoNet announced it is starting a development program for IP-based products to distribute on-demand entertainment video over an IP backbone. As part of this program, BarcoNet has entered into a Product Development Agreement with Path 1...

DWDM market booming.(dense wavelength division multiplexing)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Dense wavelength division multiplexing is now the standard for long-haul fiber optic networks, according to a report by Allied Business Intelligence (ABI). The report, "U.S. and WorLd Markets for DWDM Multiplexers and EDFAs," identifies...

Blazers aim for HDTV sports channel launch.(Portland Trail Blazers plans for the Action Sports Cable Network)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... The Portland Trail Blazers announced plans for the summer launch of Action Sports Cable Network (ASCN), a high-definition cable TV sports channel. As a commitment to HDTV, ASCN will build a 53-foot, state-of-the-art HDTV truck, the only one of...

Free space optics to become billion dollar market.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Years of development of free space optical technologies are expected to result in a billion dollar market early in 2003, according to a report by Allied Business Intelligence (ABI). After more than a decade of near idle growth, free space...

Alopa and RiverDelta partner to deliver open access software.(Alopa Networks)(RiverDelta Networks Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Alopa Networks and RiverDelta Networks are partnering to provide MSOs with an open access based self-provisioning solution for DOCSIS 1.1 broadband networks. Alopa and RiverDelta will enable service providers to deploy differentiated services,...

OCAP spec released for comment.(OpenCable Application Platform)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... CableLabs has released for comment the OpenCable Application Platform (OCAP), or middleware software, specification. This collection of specifications establishes a road map for companies from around the world to create applications for...

S-A, Metabyte to enhance personal TV on set-tops.(Scientific-Atlanta Inc.)(Metabyte Networks Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Scientific-Atlanta (S-A) announced it has licensed preference engine and intelligent storage management software developed by Metabyte Networks Inc. that, once ported, is expected to enable its Explorer digital interactive set-tops to recommend...

Insight, DIVA partner for VOD deal.(Video On Demand)(Insight Communications Company L.P.)(Diva Systems Corp.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Insight Communications and DIVA have announced an agreement which further extends DIVAs VOD solution to Insight's remaining systems in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. As a result, DIVA will now be placed in front of a potential 930,000 Insight...

Cox, Emperative work to eliminate cable modem truck rolls.(Cox Communications and Emperative Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Cox Communications is using Emperative Inc.'s software as the foundation for rapid, automated activation of cable modem subscribers. Specifically, in its Middle America cable systems, Cox has deployed Emperative's ProvEn provisioning engine and...

LPGA drives toward FTTH.(fiber-to-the-home communications systems)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Optical Solutions Inc. and GateHouse Networks have announced that Optical Solutions' FiberPath optical fiber-to-the-home system for converged telephone, cable television and Internet services will be deployed in the LPGA planned residential...

Microtune granted cable modem tuner patent.(patented product information)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Microtune Inc. announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent for its cable modem single-conversion tuner. The patent, number 6,169,569, protects the fundamental architecture of Microtune's cable modem tuners that...

Sigma Systems, Terayon partner.(for cable modem service)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Sigma Systems Group will provide back-office automated provisioning for Terayon's cable modem termination systems and cable modems used by broadband service providers internationally. Sigma's Cable Broadband in a Box software supports...

AT&T installs 3 millionth customer.(for digital cable)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... AT&T Broadband installed its three-millionth digital cable customer last month. The three-millionth customer, Glen McGraw of Cypress, Calif., was presented with a year of complimentary AT&T Digital Cable service as a thank-you gift.

Adelphia banks on Commerce.TV.(Adelphia Communications Corp and Commerce.TV contract)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Commerce.TV and Adelphia Communications Corp. have reached an agreement to deploy interactive television services to Adelphia's digital cable subscribers. In addition, Adelphia has made an equity investment in Commerce.TV. Adelphia will...

PowerTV, S-A, Videotron team for e-mail over TV.(PowerTV, Scientific-Atlanta, Videotron Communications)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... PowerTV, Scientific-Atlanta (S-A) and Videotron Communications announced a system-wide commercial deployment of e-mail over hybrid fiber/coax broadband interactive television. Videotron is offering PowerTV's SofaMAIL e-mail service via S-A's...

SBC, Sprint, TW deploy BroadJump's Virtual Truck.(SBC Communications, Time Warner contracts)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... SBC Communications has chosen BroadJump's Virtual Truck Installer to enhance installation of its DSL service. BroadJump also announced that Time Warner is deploying BroadJump's Virtual Truck Qualifier in almost half of its divisions nationwide....

Equator expands MAP-CA family.(Equator Technologies expands product line)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Equator Technologies has announced the expansion of its MAP-CA family of broadband signal processors. Providing a variety of high-performance chips, the MAP-CA-11, MAP-CA-12, MAP-CA-13 and MAP-CA-14 are designed to support the diverse consumer...

Broadband Gateways rolls out EVOLO.(new service information)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Broadband Gateways expanded its Piano, Texas-based facility last month, after being forced to nearly double its employee base to prepare for an aggressive sales initiative and to meet the growing demand for its EVOLO intelligent premises...

CABLE TELEPHONY SENDING MIXED SIGNALS.(telecommunications industry overview)(Industry Overview)
April 1, 2001... Circuit-switched providers are taking a breather... IP-based proponents are on hold for DOCSIS 1.1 and PacketCable... better call back in 2002 for an IP connection that really works Competition's a bitch. When Congress passed the 1996...

NAVIGATING the telephony business waters.(telecommunications industry)(Industry Overview)
April 1, 2001... For most cable operators, their telephony business is on hold while traditional circuit switched technology migrates to IP-based telephony and myriad operational, marketing and business questions are addressed. For a select few, however, laying...

VoDSL.(voice over digital subscriber lines)(Industry Overview)
April 1, 2001... Voice-over-DSL looks promising, but it has a way to go before it becomes marquee-quality technology Much like a World Wrestling Federation bout, there's been more talk than action when it comes to voice-over-DSL (VoDSL) deployments....

Fiber optic technology gains momentum.(industry data and trends)(Industry Overview)
April 1, 2001... An analysis of coax vs. fiber investments As the demand for voice, video and high-speed data services continues to grow-especially in the burgeoning multi-dwelling unit (MDU) arena-fiber optic solutions are gaining momentum over traditional...

PacketCable 1.x architecture enters the zone.(Cable Television Laboratories Inc product information)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2001... Standards-based telephony gear to be available this year or next The promise of pure Internet Protocol (IP)-based cable telephony, long on the advanced services wish list of cable operators seeking to maximize the revenue potential of their...

Everything and the kitchen sink.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2001... BCE's ComboBox combines DTH, DSL and PVR into single set-top Cable TV killer or technological boondoggle? That's the question surrounding Bell Canada Enterprises' (BCE) ComboBox set-top box: one BCE hopes will kick the stuffing out of its...

Providing enhanced services over DOCSIS.(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... Tools for advanced billing, quality of service and security tasks Enhanced cable services provide operators with the ability to expand their service offerings beyond the video entertainment services. Enhanced cable services consist of...

Cable construction steady through 2002.
April 1, 2001... Top providers to spend over $12 billion for capital expenditures this year It used to be taboo to describe an upcoming construction year as "flat." Flat meant there was going to be hardly any growth. The environment was spiritless, or...

`PVR 102' The next lesson.(Personal Video Recorder)
April 1, 2001... One of the more important things to learn from experimenting with the PVR concerns consumer reaction to levels of video quality. This has major bearing on the likelihood of success of HDTV, and also what capacity should be allocated for SDTV...

Business people.
April 1, 2001... Women in Cable & Telecommunications has announced that Sharon O'Malley Monahan, partner at Fleischman and Walsh LLP, will serve as WICT's national chair. The 4,600-member organization will be led by an executive committee that includes Vice...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.
April 1, 2001... Firefighters look to distance training PALO ALTO, Calif.--Amnis Systems Inc. (formerly Optivision Inc.) has deployed its MPEG-2 technologies for the Tulsa Fire Department in a distance training application. Cadets and veteran firefighters...

new products.
April 1, 2001... PRODUCT REVIEWS Modem provisioning software WALTHAM, Mass.--Emperative Inc. has released new software that decreases how long consumers have to wait for cable modem service--from weeks to immediate activation. The new provisioning...

Stifling new technology.(Federal Communications Commission's regulation of American Online Time Warner's instant messaging services)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... The FCC said to AOL Time Warner: You have a monopoly in the provision of text-based instant messaging, but we're going to let you keep that monopoly without regulating it. But if you improve the service by adding video or other advanced...

Step up to the table.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... FORESIGHT. KNOWLEDGE. Taken individually, each attribute has tremendous value. Combined, they provide a person with incredible power in the business market. Those who attend next month's Cable-Tec Expo in Orlando can look upon it as yet...

TICK TOCK.(Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers)
April 1, 2001... Hoping to stay a jump ahead of the competition, BSPs craft holistic technical strategies It is said we live in interesting times. Today, broadband service providers have to be more nimble and infinitely more knowledgeable than ever before....

Make yourself at home.
April 1, 2001... Eyeing a home networking market expected to be worth billions, both operators and vendors are studying applications, standards and business models in order to make a house a high-tech home Home networks and related gateways are slowly...

OPEN ACCESS FROM TABOO TO TAKE - OFF.(AT and T Broadband and Internet Services)
April 1, 2001... Not long ago, the thought of opening up cable TV networks to outside Internet service providers was unthinkable. To let potential competitors into the industry's headends and subscriber homes seemed like inviting the KGB to an FBI strategy...

COZYING UP TO VIDEO-ON-DEMAND.
April 1, 2001... As they prepare for VOD, operators need to get up-close-and-personal with network issues ranging from capacity engineering to selecting interfaces Even though the concept of video-on-demand (VOD) has been around for several years, most of...

AVOIDING a point of NO RETURN.
April 1, 2001... TECHNIQUES FOR COAXING THE BEST POSSIBLE PERFORMANCE FROM THE RETURN PATH Activating the return path on a hybrid fiber/coax network is the first step toward offering advanced services, but maintaining a healthy path back to the headend and...

putting & keeping the RIGHT TEAM together.
April 1, 2001... Team building and personnel retention are subjects that rarely command headlines, much less create excitement in the marketplace. But as the industry morphs into a competitive environment where service providers battle for consumer attention,...

TREATING the whole NETWORK.
April 1, 2001... PROACTIVE NETWORK MONITORING WILL BE CRITICAL TO THE HEALTH OF PACKET-BASED SERVICES Although they cover different kinds of networks, two different workshops at this year's SCTE Cable-Tec Expo share one simple message: monitor your two-way...

SAY GOOD-BYE TO TRUCK ROLLS?(automated cable-based services)
April 1, 2001... PROVISIONING PUSHES TO THE FOREFRONT NOW IS WHEN THINGS GET INTERESTING. DOCSIS 1.0 certification is running like a well-oiled machine, and high-speed Internet service is spreading throughout large and small systems alike....

Raising the broadband bar.(BarcoNet)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... BarcoNet--a leading force in interoperability The cable TV industry is currently experiencing one of the most exciting time periods in its history. We have eclipsed delivery of simple video and audio and have entered the technologically...

Preparing for a new era of broadband.
April 1, 2001... As the cable television industry continues to expand and develop into a communications behemoth during one of the most exciting periods in its history, BarcoNet Inc. is growing right along with it. The worldwide supplier of broadcast and...

Building the headend of the future today.(BarcoNet)
April 1, 2001... Flexibility, reliability and expandability are fast-becoming key attributes of the 21st century headend as multi-service providers add the triple play of services--voice, video and data while pursuing crucial new revenue streams. ...

Open standards taking center stage.(BarcoNet)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... The new era of broadband communications is promising impressive new revenue streams for cable operators and multi-service providers. Getting to those revenues, however, will require deeper and wider access to the technologies and applications...

Network integration and performance a must for MSOs.
April 1, 2001... Integration and performance aren't just convenient buzzwords anymore. They now represent an integral part of a network's true value in the race to new services and revenues, and when coupled with the products and systems which enable service...

CED ORBITAL ARC CHART.(C-BAND VIDEO SATELLITES)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... C-BAND VIDEO SATELLITES GE Satcom C4 135 [degrees] West Longitude Proj. EOL: Nov. 2004 C-band TWTA power: 17.5 watts Polarization: Odd:Vert./Even: Horiz. 1 = American Movie Classics (VC2+) 3 = Nickelodeon East (VC2+) 4 =...