CED articles from April 2003

CED archives from April 2003

Mindful activities. (in perspective).(Editorial)
April 1, 2003... The mind is a funny thing. It fills up with odd thoughts when you're doing such mundane things as taking a shower, mowing the lawn or shoveling a year's worth of snow. I offer as evidence a few things that wandered through my head while I was...

AOL sets MusicNet launch. (Up front: latest news and insight).
April 1, 2003... Hoping to gives its broadband strategy a much-needed kick in the pants, America Online has set plans to launch MusicNet on AOL, a premium service that enables subscribers to legally download and "burn" digital music. The service, available...

Tollgrade to deliver Acterna's `Cheetah' line. (Up front: latest news and insight).
April 1, 2003... Tollgrade Communications struck a deal to buy Acterna's Status and Performance Monitoring product line for $14.5 million in cash, plus certain liabilities. Those liabilities include a contingent payment, based on 2003 performance targets, to...

N2 Broadband takes on VOD integration. (Up front: latest news and insight).
April 1, 2003... N2 Broadband has unveiled what it calls the first "open" system for cable-based video-on-demand, claiming the solution can support digital systems and video streaming servers from multiple vendors. N2 Broadband said the system, dubbed...

Time Warner Cable waxes wireless. (Up front: latest news and insight).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Time Warner Cable will use fixed wireless technologies to reach some small- and medium-sized businesses in San Diego, thanks to a deal with SkyRiver Communications. Time Warner is tapping SkyRiver's technology and surrounding wireless...

Arris boosts VOD transport with Atoga purchase. (Up front: latest news and insight).
April 1, 2003... Arris will acquire Atoga Systems in a deal that aims to boost Arris' broadband transport portfolio and give it a straight line into the video-on-demand sector. Under terms of the deal, Arris will acquire "certain" Atoga inventory, fixed...

Cable modems finish strong in 2002. (Up front: latest news and insight).
April 1, 2003... Broadband service providers, a group made up of cable MSOs, telcos and ISPs, added 7 million residential broadband subs in 2002, a 14 percent jump versus 2001, extending the combined total to 20 million, according to Kinetic Strategies Inc. ...

Auspice `addresses' IP needs. (Up front: latest news and insight).
April 1, 2003... Auspice Corp. has expanded its "OpsLogic" broadband software suite with a new automated IP address management system. Dubbed "IPAMS," the IP addresser is designed to automate and simplify the management of a task that is typically...

In Demand adds HD to the menu. (Up front: latest news and insight).
April 1, 2003... In Demand said it will kick off its HDVOD slate this month with the release of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding. In Demand has scored HD fights from HBO Enterprises, DreamWorks and New Line Cinema. That will give In Demand access to titles such as...

Core hopes to score with home-net `Duet'. (Up front: latest news and insight).
April 1, 2003... OSS firm CoreNetworks has launched CoreDuet, a partnership program designed around the CableHome home networking specification. Core said the program will help the company formalize and foster cooperation between Core and companies that...

Cedar Point funded in second round. (Up front: latest news and insight).
April 1, 2003... The market may be soft, but that didn't stop IP telephony startup Cedar Point Communications from scoring $25 million in a second round of funding. Germany-based STAR Ventures led the round, with participation from Charles River Ventures,...

Best Buy hawking S-A HD boxes in Phoenix. (Up front: latest news and insight).
April 1, 2003... Scientific-Atlanta said it started selling HD-capable digital cable set-tops in the Phoenix area via a deal with CE retail giant Best Buy. The retail arrangement also includes participation from Cox Communications, the area's incumbent cable...

SeaChange system bolsters VOD content. (Up front: latest news and insight).
April 1, 2003... Adding a touch of personalization to video-on-demand, SeaChange International has launched a new recording system that enables cable operators to offer Local news, sports and Live events all on-demand. An extension of SeaChange's flagship...

SCTE teams up for distance learning courses. (Up front: latest news and insight).(Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers )
April 1, 2003... The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers has partnered with the New 3ersey Institute of Technology and AM Communications to offer five distance learning courses designed for cable students and telecom pros. The courses are...

Cautious treading: imposing bandwidth consumption caps and tracking a customer's high-speed data usage could present MSOs with a steady stream of operational and technical hazards.
April 1, 2003... Although high-speed data has grown to become an immensely popular cable service, operators are still trying to figure out how to get more return on their investment and how to police bandwidth hogs who cost more to maintain than the monthly nut...

Prognosis positive: healthy doses of technology upgrades and expanded service areas have given cable's broadband competition a shot in the arm. (Alternative Broadband Health).
April 1, 2003... A strong DSL market is combining with recovering fixed wireless and satellite broadband services to pose healthy competition to cable-based broadband, the residential market leader in the U.S. At the same time, the proliferation of 802.11b...

GigE driving VOD costs down: case study: Charter Communications, Kennewick, Wash. (Fiberline: fiber optic technology).
April 1, 2003... When one thinks about Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) in the context of video-on-demand (VOD), the first notion that comes to mind is one of lower transport costs; but squeezing more bandwidth out of a fiber is just the beginning. Imagine the savings...

Running the OSS gauntlet: intelligent use of network data can add to bottom line. (Broadband: business and news perspective).(Operational Support System )
April 1, 2003... Operational Support System (OSS) issues--from customer care and billing to network asset management--routinely top the list of obstacles preventing cable MSOs (multiple system operators) and the broadband industry at-large from deploying new...

DTV tradeoffs. (Ciciora's corner).(Editorial)
April 1, 2003... One of my favorite sayings is: "There are no solutions, only tradeoffs." This is because a true solution to a problem would solve every aspect of the problem, leaving no loose ends. It would make everyone satisfied. It is very rare that such a...

Emerging from the shadows: DSL, fixed wireless and FTTH are giving cable a run for its money. (Analyst's corner: industry research).
April 1, 2003... At the end of 2002, cable modem service was king of the U.S. broadband market, with just over 11.1 million subscribers, according to In-Stat/MDR estimates. This doesn't mean, however, that it is the only broadband technology available. There...

Work order management software.
April 1, 2003... NORCROSS, Ga. -- Enhanced Telecommunications Inc. (ETI) has released its Work Order Management Software (WorkX). Integrated with ETI's flagship product CableBridge, WorkX provides support for work order management and appointment scheduling....

PMD analyzer.(EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering Inc.)
April 1, 2003... QUEBEC CITY, Canada -- EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering Inc. has launched its FTB-5500B Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD) Analyzer (patent-pending). The portable instrument can sweep through erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs), and enables...

Textile innerduct.(Arris TeleWire Supply has introduced FlexPull)
April 1, 2003... DENVER, Colo. -- Arris TeleWire Supply has introduced FlexPull, a new line of textile innerduct for cable installation in conduit. Marketed under the company's Monarch brand, FlexPull helps maximize cable density in occupied or empty conduit....

Enhanced network analysis.
April 1, 2003... COLUMBUS, Ohio -- CMS Communications has announced Network Analytics v2.0, an application that provides user-directed tools for reporting and analysis of critical traffic data from a service provider's network. Network Analytics has completed...

Fiber optic products.
April 1, 2003... SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Alliance Fiber Optic Products Inc. (AFOP) has announced several new products, including the SpectraMux Compact Coarse WDM module which features a package that is one-quarter the size of conventional CWDM modules, according...

Cable blocks.
April 1, 2003... TREVOSE, Pa. -- General Machine Products Co. Inc. (GMP) has introduced six new construction-grade cable blocks to its existing line of aerial cable placement tools and equipment. The clip-on block supports cable to 1 inch (2.54 cm) during...

Free Voice-over-IP. (capital currents).
April 1, 2003... I use AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) service, and it's free. But AIM is limited to text messages because of the FCC decision allowing the merger of AOL and Time Warner. (See "Stifling New Technology," CED, April 2001, p. 130.) The FCC prohibited...

Cable modems.(Illustration)
April 1, 2003... CABLE MODEMS DOCSIS 1.0 DOCSIS 1.1 Company name Model certified? certified? Aastra Tecnnologies HM200c Yes No Ltd. ...

Cable modem plus residential gateway.(Illustration)
April 1, 2003... CABLE MODEM PLUS RESIDENTIAL GATEWAY DOCSIS 1.0 DOCSIS 1.1 Company name Model certified? certified? Ambit U01C007 No ...

Multimedia terminal adapters and embedded MTAs.(Directory)
April 1, 2003... MULTIMEDIA TERMINAL ADAPTERS AND EMBEDDED MTAs Company DOCSIS 1.1 DOCSIS 2.0 Name Model certified? certified? Ambit T60C237 ...

Cable modem termination systems.(Directory)
April 1, 2003... CABLE MODEM TERMINATION SYSTEMS This device manages access network resources for high-speed data and PacketCable services. Company DOCSIS 1.0 DOCSIS 1.1 name Model ...

Packetcable network components *.(Directory)
April 1, 2003... PACKETCABLE NETWORK COMPONENTS * CALL MANAGEMENT SERVERS The CMS manages and maintains call state for VoIP services, and is composed of two elements: a call agent and a gate controller. Company Product ...

North American residential cable telephony deployments and trials.(Illustration)
April 1, 2003... NORTH AMERICAN RESIDENTIAL CABLE TELEPHONY DEPLOYMENTS AND TRIALS MSO/market CBR/VoIP Armstrong Cable Services Undisclosed markets VoIP Cablevision Fairfield County, Conn. ...

North American VOD deployments.(Illustration)
April 1, 2003... NORTH AMERICAN VOD DEPLOYMENTS Primary video Service operator Market server vendor(s) Adelphia Bethel Park, Pa. SeaChange...

Cable HDTV deployments/availability.(Illustration)
April 1, 2003... CABLE HDTV DEPLOYMENTS/AVAILABILITY HD service MSO Market launch date Advance/Newhouse Bakerfield, Calif. -- ...