CED articles from August 2000

CED archives from August 2000

The return of MMDS.
August 1, 2000... It wasn't all that long ago that cable operators had total control over their markets. Oh sure, they hated being called monopolists and fought desperately to convince national and local governments that they didn't have a stranglehold on local...

PODs pine to usher in retail digital set-top era.
August 1, 2000... Cable Television Laboratories Inc.'s OpenCable Review Board on June 29 said it had verified the interoperability of removable point-of-deployment modules (PODs) from Motorola and Scientific-Atlanta (S-A), permitting cable operators to beat a...

RiverDelta addresses open access.
August 1, 2000... Claiming it can provide full support for open access in cable networks, RiverDelta Networks has introduced Policy-Based Routing to its headend equipment repertoire. When combined with the company's SmartFLow Quality of Service (QoS)...

Dynatech nets Cheetah for $152 million.(acquisition)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2000... Dynatech Corp. penned a deal to acquire Cheetah Technologies, a manufacturer of status monitoring, network management and automated test products, for roughly $152 million in cash plus assumed debt. Dynatech, the parent company of TTC,...

BAS blazes deployment trail.(Broadband Access Systems)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2000... Making more noise on the deployment front, Broadband Access Systems Inc. (BAS) says Catawba Services Inc. will deploy its carrier-class Cuda 12000 IP Access Switch to five cable markets in South Carolina that serve 70,000 customers. According...

Road Runner lights up 0C-192 for faster speeds.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2000... Road Runner has deployed a new segment of its national network that integrates 0C-192 transport technology and Cisco's 12016 Internet router in MediaOne's (now AT&T Broadband's) Northeast region. 0C-192 networks are fast enough to deliver full...

Study gives HFC telephony a ringing endorsement.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2000... Claiming that cable is poised to become a one-stop-shop for bundled video, voice and data services, the industry could pull down annual revenues of $2.67 billion in total telephone service alone by 2005, predicts The Strategis Group in a recent...

Excite@Home eyes short-form VOD.(video-on-demand)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2000... Claiming it has found another "killer application" for the world of broadband, Excite@Home has launched Excite ClickVideo, an application that provides its cable modem customers with on-demand access to short-form video content. Excite...

Marconi pioneers fiber-to-home.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2000... Marconi, a company known for its fiber-to-the-curb solutions, says it's ready for the next step: fiber-to-the-home (FTTH). FTTH, which has typically been deemed too expensive for cable operators, at least for the next three years, is...

Rival ISP to piggyback WOW's network.(WideOpenWest to allow open access to Front Range Internet)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2000... Calling it the "nation's first `open access' ISP agreement," overbuilder WideOpenWest (WOW) says it has agreed to allow Ft. Collins, Colo.-based Front Range Internet Inc. (FRII) to offer high-speed Internet services over its broadband network....

Adelphia dials up VOIP trial.(voice over internet protocol)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2000... Number-six U.S. MSO Adelphia Communications Corp. has tapped Broadband Access Systems (BAS), Tollbridge Technologies and Arris Interactive to supply equipment for an IP telephony technical trial in an undisclosed location. Specifically,...

ICTV inks deals following investment round.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2000... ICTV is beginning to see the fruits of its latest investment round, which netted the company $87 million. Motorola, which participated in the round, has agreed to incorporate ICTV's interactive television (ITV) browser with Motorola's core line...

All sides declare `open access' victory.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2000... Following a highly-publicized case in Portland, Ore., the U.S Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held up a decision that local franchise authorities do not have the authority to impose "open access" conditions on cable operators--considered...

Motorola scans the Internet.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2000... Motorola Inc., Symbol Technologies Inc., Connect Things Inc. and AirClic Inc. have agreed to invest up to $500 million to form a company that creates Web code registries for the burgeoning e-commerce industry. The Web codes with enable the...

AOLTV: From drawing board to launch pad.(America Online launches interactive television service)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2000... America Online Inc. (AOL) has launched AOLTV, its much-ballyhooed interactive television service. The first markets to have access to AOLTV include Phoenix, Sacramento and Baltimore. AOL says additional markets will be announced later this...

EchoStar defines TV via retail.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2000... Although a dearth of high definition television (HDTV) programming is available and the number of deployed HDTV-enabled sets are at a mere minimum, EchoStar believes the time is now for the glittery, albeit nascent service. Melding high...

The world switches on to DTV.(digital television)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2000... Led by the U.K., the U.S., France and Spain, approximately 56 million homes worldwide will be watching digital television by the end of 2000, according to a recent Strategy Analytics forecast titled "Interactive Digital. Television: Worldwide...

OnePoint snaps up video streamer.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2000... OnePoint Communications has completed its acquisition of StreamNow Inc., a developer of streaming video solutions for applications such as real-time DVD-quality video. The buy gives OnePoint the technology it will need to offer...

Road Runner to trim need for live support.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2000... Road Runner says it plans to deploy a customized version of BroadJump's CorrectConnect software suite to support and manage its high-speed cable modem subscribers. BroadJump's CorrectConnect, which will re-branded as "Road Runner Medic" in...

Comcast picks up the Pace.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2000... Marking its second big win in the U.S. market, Pace Micro Technology has won a three-year contract to supply Comcast Cable Communications Inc. with 350,000 digital set-top boxes for the MSO's Motorola- and Scientific-Atlanta-based cable...

MS0s back SoD with stacks o' greenbacks.(software-on-demand)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2000... Software-on-demand (SOD) player Into Networks has completed a $36.6 million round of equity financing from a duster of big name cable players, including Cox Communications, U.K. operator NTL Inc., UnitedGlobalCom and Adelphia Communications....

Microtune and Cisco meld technology.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2000... Microtune and Cisco Systems Inc. have linked up to develop "next-generation" cable products using Microtune's silicon-based tuner "gateway" technology. Under terms of the deal, Cisco will collaborate with Microtune on the development and...

WELCOME TO THE `SMART HOUSE'.
August 1, 2000... RESIDENTIAL GATEWAYS ARE POISED TO POUNCE AS BROADBAND PORTALS FOR THE NETWORKED HOME Thanks to the potential of the residential gateway, the home of the future is starting to take on Jetsonian proportions. Get ready, George and Astro, the...

VCR FUNCTIONALITY GETS UP CLOSE AND PESONAL.(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2000... WHILE TIVO AND REPLAY TV' LED THE CHARGE INTO THE WORLD OF PERSONAL VIDEO RECORDING, AN INCREASING NUMBER OF OPERATORS AND SET-TOP MANUFACTURERS ARE POISED TO JOIN THE TIME-SHIFTING CONVENIENCE CRAZE It wasn't all that long ago that when...

Harnessing DWDM for video transport.(Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing)(Asynchronous Transfer Mode )(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2000... Integrating protocols into a unified system Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) is a technology that has come to the forefront in the last five years as the way to unlock the bandwidth potential within fiber optic networks. Many...

Taking the set-top out of the equation.(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2000... Gateways could provide more service choices, enhanced control The technical capabilities of cable TV systems are being constantly enhanced and expanded beyond the traditional entertainment services to provide cable operators with new...

MPEG-4: Cable's new hope for streaming media?(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2000... Operators, manufacturers evaluate MPEG-4 tools As the consumer's hunger forever more bandwidth and new applications such as broadband multimedia over the Internet grows, cable operators are compelled to keep up with demand by finding more...

Residential gateways carve out market niche.(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2000... Sorting out the hype to find products that make sense The emergence of the "residential gateway" as an entry point to the burgeoning home network market and the impressive revenues it promises is sparking increased interest among a growing...

Spectrum sales and must-carry.(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2000... BY WALTER S. CICIORA, PH.D., RECOGNIZED INDUSTRY EXPERT ON CABLE AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS ISSUES In September, the FCC proposes to auction off channels 60 to 69. This is expected to generate a huge amount of money for the U.S. Treasury,...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2000... Light Brigade celebrates milestone KENT, Wash.--The Light Brigade reached a significant milestone recently with the training of its 20,000th student-Ken Miles of The State of Washington Department of Transportation. Larry Johnson,...

business people.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2000... Paul Dempsey has been appointed president and chief operations officer for Pioneer New Media Technologies Inc. As president, he will oversee the growth of the company's optical business, cable television and industrial video, as well as the...

New Products.(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2000... PRODUCTS REVIEWS Video encoder/decoder SOUTH PLAINFIELD, N.J.-Radiant Communications has introduced its Series V3000, a family of MPEG-compliant encoders and decoders which transmits and receives audio signals with better than true VHS...

Open Access court decision.
August 1, 2000... The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned the Oregon District Court decision and has prohibited Portland from imposing an Open Access requirement on AT&T Broadband. Amazingly, the losers have claimed victory! Anyway, the real question...