CED articles from January 2002

CED archives from January 2002

Questions surround AT&T Comcast. (in perspective).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... There's a new sheriff in Cabletown, and his name is Brian Roberts. With the announcement last month that Comcast Corp. would take over AT&T Broadband, Roberts and his team in Philadelphia will fundamentally change the cable television landscape...

Comcast emerges with winning AT&T Broadband bid. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Following months of competing bids and wild speculation about who would emerge victorious, Comcast Corp. won the battle for AT&T Broadband on Dec. 19 in a deal valued at $72 billion, potentially creating an MSO with 22 million subscribers. ...

Correction.(NetworklP)(Correction Notice)
January 1, 2002... The OSS chart in the November issue of CED incorrectly identified the URL for NetworklP, an application service provider for small- and mid-sized cable operators. The correct URL is www.networklP.net.

Ruling gives Time Warner OK to strip Gemstar's VBI. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(Time Warner Cable)(Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc.)(vertical blanking interval technology)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Putting to bed a drawn out, bitter debate, the Federal Communications Commission has ruled that Time Warner Cable's analog must-carry obligations don't include the carriage of Gemstar-TV Guide International's vertical blanking interval (VBI)...

Overbuilders join hands, form lobbying group. (upfront: Latest News And Insight).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Together, they say, they'd be one of the country's top 10 cable operators. Thirteen broadband network providers pooled their $5 billion, 29,000 miles of fiber and 1 million customer clout, and formed the Broadband Service Providers...

Predictive pairs with Microsoft TV. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(Predictive Networks Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Predictive Networks has inked a memorandum of understanding to provide targeted advertising and other content designed for the Microsoft TV set-top box software platform. Predictive said its "Digital Silhouette" technology provides "viewer...

CableLabs to meld Europe's MHP with OCAP. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(Cable Television Laboratories Inc.)(Multimedia Home Platform)(OpenCable Application Platform)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Making the inevitable official, CableLabs said its North American MSO members have agreed to marry parts of Europe's Multimedia Home Platform middleware into the OpenCable Application Platform (OCAP), the middleware specification for...

iVast. Sigma designs plot plans for MPEG-4-capable set-tops. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(Sigma Designs Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Hoping to take media streaming far beyond the levels of MPEG-2, iVAST and Sigma Designs have formed a strategic partnership to co-develop an MPEG-4 design for digital set-tops, DVD players and other consumer electronics devices. Under...

Microtune, nCUBE have answer for `bulky' VOD upconverters. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(Video-on-demand)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Aiming to slash space, cost and power requirements for on-demand cable services and network-based personal video recording systems, Microtune Inc. and nCUBE Corp. have introduced a new set of silicon designed to replace today's "bulky"...

Time Warner picks BroadJump for multi-ISPs. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(Time Warner Cable)(Internet Service Providers)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... In an effort to automate access to multiple Internet service providers, Time Warner Cable said it has struck a deal to deploy BroadJump's "Virtual Truck Installer." The deal expands a 1999 partnership between the companies, when the MSO...

Bell Canada taps Exent for on-demand games. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(Exent Technologies)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Bell Canada struck a deal with Exent Technologies to offer Gamesmania, a games-on-demand service aimed at PC owners with DSL connections. Accessed via the Web, Exent's "pay-as-you-play" model incorporates the company's secure "EXEtender"...

Broadband users reaching lofty levels. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... The base of home-based broadband users flew past the 21 million mark in November, setting an all-time high, reported Nielsen//NetRatings. More specifically, one out of every five "surfers" accessed the Internet via broadband, equating to...

Ericsson unloads cable modem business. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(LM Ericsson Telephone Co.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Marking the latest vendor to bug out of the sector, Ericsson said it inked a deal to sell its Lynchburg, Va.-based cable modem business to Canadian firm Aastra Technologies for an undisclosed amount of money. Ericsson, whose primary cable...

Comcast to grade Cedar Point in the lab. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(Cedar Point Communications Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Start-up IP-telephony firm Cedar Point Communications said Comcast Corp. will test its Cable Media Switching Systems in the lab. Conducting those tests at its Philadelphia headquarters, the MSO marks the first third-party evaluation of...

Advent nets first `ultraband' customer. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(Advent Networks)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... AdventNetworks Inc. said Kansas City-based overbuilder Everest Connections marks the first operator to deploy the tart-up s proprietary "Ultraband platform. Everest, which competes in the market with incumbent MSO Time Warner Cable, has three...

G4 net targets gamers, not iTV. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(video gaming network)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Tapping into a voracious welt of PC and console garners and giving TechTV a gentle competitive nudge, Comcast Corp. finally unveiled plans for G4, a new video gaming net work stated to launch in April. So far, Insight Communications and...

Your idea could be worth $10.000! (Upfront: latest news and insight).
January 1, 2002... Ever had a great idea for a new product or tool that would make life simpler for broadband network field personnel, but shoved the idea to the back of your mind because you didn't know how to get the idea to market? It's time to search the...

HITS tackles `unwired' markets. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(AT&T Broadband's Headend The Sky)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Giving rural, operators a new weapon for a war with DBS, WSNet and AT&T Broadband's Headend In The Sky (HITS) have teamed to enable cable operators to offer digital, programming via satellite to "hard-to-serve" markets not passed by traditional...

Cable: just say no. (Letters).
January 1, 2002... Thank you very much for this article. I'll be sure to use it as an example of why Internet service should never be purchased from a cable operator. Your article simply reeked of the idiotic, government-coddled, monopoly mentality of the entire...

Internet subscription? (Letters).
January 1, 2002... Your article is based on the faulty assumption that you're selling a "subscription" to the Internet. That is a cable providerish way of looking at things, and the reason I avoid cable (and tell my friends to as well) like the plague. What...

Telco model. (Letters).
January 1, 2002... I have to say your article concerning NAT and broadband data access made me extremely angry. You obviously understand the subject matter, so I can only assume that you have simply not considered the other side of the story. As an analogy,...

Not dishonest. (Letters).
January 1, 2002... I think you clearly and rightly stated your comparison of NAT to cable TV theft. In this argument, I would not accuse you of expressing only the point-of-view of the cable company, because you are also addressing some simple concepts of what is...

It's my business. (Letters).
January 1, 2002... Your article seems to make the point that all information flowing across the cable modems in America SHOULD be "meterable" and chargeable, with extra access fees and hidden charges wherever the provider can find an opportunity. That somehow,...

A driving force: John Pietri helps lead Charter into an interactive future. (Cover Story).
January 1, 2002... There's an old saying that still waters run deep. Another one suggests that you can't judge a book by its cover. Both axioms ring true in the case of one John Pietri, senior vice president of engineering at Charter Communications. Pietri's...

Riding a new wave: innovative new products were the highlight of the 2001 Western Show.
January 1, 2002... Unfortunately for those who ventured to Anaheim, Calif. last December, the 2001 Western Show was probably more newsworthy for what wasn't said than what was uttered by the 17,000 attendees. The dearth of bodies roaming the floor (official...

Shedding some light on OMI: a method for measuring the optical modulation index. (Fiberline: fiber optic technology).(optical modulation index)
January 1, 2002... When characterizing an analog optical transmitter, several parameters are key to understanding the performance one can expect. Among these are the optical output power, the optimum input electrical signal level, the relative intensity noise...

Multi-service wavelength switching: creating a simple, flexible network. (Networking: advanced networking technology).
January 1, 2002... Many MSOs are looking toward offering new services to help grow their business and minimize customer churn. Some of these new services include voice-over-IP (VoIP) and video-on-demand (VOD). These services, however, require upgrading the...

Increasing the productivity of existing fiber: system facilitates ITV deployment with bdr. (Networking: advanced networking technology).
January 1, 2002... The Time Warner Cable of Hawaii system has 352,000 subscribers on five islands in Hawaii. As we accelerated our rollout of interactive services to subscribers, we faced the multiple challenges experienced by all cable operators. This included...

WINfirst bets on triple play: But BSP's fiber-to-the-home network under watchful eyes. (Broadband: business and news perspective).
January 1, 2002... On October 29, alternative broadband service provider WINfirst launched its next-generation, fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) service to select residents of Sacramento, Calif. with the message: "Bringing colors of light into the home." It also brought...

Turning old into new. (In the loop).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The beginning of a new year, 2002. On the networking side, it's a time to pursue new ideas, technologies and architectures that react to the challenges that our existing networks may have faced in the past year. Yet for most Of us. there may...

Fighting freight abuse: operators save money by getting serious about freight costs. (Broadband: business and news perspective).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... As broadband service providers continue their collective effort to become leaner and meaner, they're looking for new ways to increase efficiency and lower costs. Up to now, one of the most innocuous line-item costs of doing business has been...

Workforce automation software.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--CSG Systems Inc. has released version 3.0 of Workforce Express, a suite of tools that automates dispatch and field operations. CSG Workforce Express' three applications--CSG Workforce Management, CSG TechNet and CSG TechNet...

Wireless interactivity.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... ANAHEIM, Calif.--Motorola Inc. Broadband Communications Sector has launched the EVr-8401 Enhanced TV Viewer, a wireless, touchscreen, handheld device that helps enrich the TV viewing experience, according to the company. The viewer wirelessly...

DSM seizure mechanism.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... ANAHEIM, Calif.--PCT International has introduced its new DSM seizure mechanism (patent pending), which can be implemented across all products containing F-ports. The patented strain relief design offers better spring retention to improve...

Enhanced analyzer. (Test Equipmet).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.--Tritlithic Inc. has announced its Terminal Mode for the 860 DSP Multifunction HFC: Analyzer, which transforms the unit into a general purpose field data terminal, providing Trilithic and other supplliers with an RF...

Transfer switch module.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... ANAHEIM, Calif.--CableServ has introduced its new RF Redundancy Transfer Switch Module for use with its CHAS Headend Amplifier System. The module takes an "A" and "B" input from any RF source and will automatically switch to the secondary "B"...

Network monitoring system.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... SOUTH PLAINFIELD,N.J.--Radiant Communications has announced its Series RM1100 system for remote monitoring of the entire channel lineup over an existing local area network. Each system is custom configured for the end user's needs: there is no...

New silicon.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... OTTAWA, Ontario--IC maker SiGe Semiconductor has announced a new silicon platform that will enable low-power, highly integrated downstream tuners for use in new DOCSIS cable telephony equipment, cable modems and digital set-top boxes. As MSOs...

RF transceiver module.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... MILPITAS, Calif.--ISG Broadband has added another member to its family of silicon-based RF solutions for cable TV and [P telephony. Optimized to interface with Texas Instruments' TNET40xx PHY modem ICs, the new ISG4042 and ISG4042EU (for...

Network control software.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... ATLANTA--Scientific-Atlanta is giving a boost to interactive and on-demand services like video-on-demand (VOD) and subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) with the release of an upgraded version of its Digital Network Control System (DNCS)...

Digital management.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... SANTA CLARA, Calif.--Terayon Communication Systems Inc. has unveiled the DM 3200 Network CherryPicker, the latest addition to its line of digital streams management systems, and the first component in the company's new Distributed Media (DM)...

HDTV.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... ANAHEIM, Calif.--One of the advanced technologies MSOs are anxious to get rolled out is HDTV, and new technologies are emerging to help operators get closer to feeding HDTV. BigBand Networks, a company that provides broadband multimedia routing...

Broadband gateway.(Agere Systems )(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... ANAHEIM, Calif.--Agere Systems has announced its new Wi-Fi certified, dual Ethernet port, ORINOCO Broadband Gateway 2000, which is designed to provide wireless connectivity and broadband Internet access via cable, xDSL and/or ISDN. The BG-2000...

Power protection.
January 1, 2002... WEST KINGSTON, R.I.--American Power Conversion has introduced a new 50-watt, -48 VDC PowerShield suited for multiple tenant units and multiple dwelling units, including apartments, offices, condominiums, small businesses and small office/home...

Backup power.
January 1, 2002... BELLINGHAM, Wash.--Alpha Technologies has made additional improvements to its AlphaCell battery offering, which is designed to provide backup power for critical communications powering applications. The line now incorporates a newly-modified...

High-speed marketing.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... AUSTIN, Texas--BroadJump Inc. has announced a new software solution, ChannelDirect, which enables broadband service providers to market and fulfill goods and services over the highspeed connection to subscribers. By leveraging broadband...

Compression assembly tool.
January 1, 2002... CROMWELL, Conn.--Ripley Company has introduced its "AH Series" Compression Assembly Tool (CAT) model. The new CAT-AS will assemble several popular Series 59, 6, 7 and 11 compression connectors, according to the company. It has all of the same...

PCB-mount coax BNC jack.
January 1, 2002... WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.--Trompeter has introduced a new gold-plated, 75-ohm circuit board BNC jack connector, the UCBJ224, for high-frequency, high data rate, broadband applications. The four-post construction with a longer center lead enables...

Sharing your cable modem. (capital currents).
January 1, 2002... My colleague, Leslie Ellis, recently wrote about my neighbor hypothetically stealing my cable modem service after I install a wireless home network. (See "The CAT and the NAT," CED, November 2001.) But here's a different take on wireless...

`Forward looking statements'. (point of entry).(Column)
January 1, 2002... MAKING PREDICTIONS IS A TRICKY BUSINESS. Bill Gates' 1981 comment that "640K ought to be enough for anybody" still brings chuckles, especially since Microsoft's new Windows XP operating system soaks up about 1.5 gigabytes of disk space. ...

Play your hand: ok, so the telecom industry had the deck stacked against it in 2001. But there are signs of a major reversal of fortune in 2002.
January 1, 2002... You really had to be an optimist to find good news in 2001, given the cards that were dealt to everyone. Poor market conditions caused a huge number of layoffs and the demise of dozens of companies. Once-powerful entities like Excite@Home...

DSL-show me the money! (Predictions).(Competitive local exchange carriers )(digital subscriber line)
January 1, 2002... You've heard it a dozen or more times--what a difference a year makes. In broadband, the prime example of the particular ditty coming to life is DSL, or digital subscriber line, technology. When the economy was running on all cylinders, DSL...

Consolidation means trouble for competition. (Predictions).
January 1, 2002... The scene: mid-year 2000. The economy is booming. Venture capital is in endless supply for companies with grand business plans that have anything to do with the Internet. Cable MSOs seem ripe for the taking, slow to roll out new services that...

No large VoIP roll-outs until late 2002. (Predictions).
January 1, 2002... With Packet-Cable specs frozen and equipment testing slated for this year, VoIP technology has finally solidified to the point that cable operators are finally feeling a lot more comfortable with the nuts and bolts behind the service. ...

Enterprise IP and satellite continue their courtship. (Predictions).
January 1, 2002... Lost amid the broadband battles between telco providers and cable operators is the traditional third alternative--satellite deliver5, of two-way high-speed Internet access. Estimates typically predict that about 46 percent of all U.S. homes...

Cable's data sector to shift from consolidation to shakeout. (Predictions).
January 1, 2002... In 2001, the industry saw the last of the start-up CMTS vendors bow to economic pressures and sell-out to larger, well-entrenched vendors and manufacturers. RiverDelta Networks sold to Motorola Broadband for $300 million, Pacific Broadband gave...

Which comes first--iTV or VOD? (Predictions).
January 1, 2002... At the recently concluded Western Show in Anaheim, most of the buzz on the less-than-full floor revolved around video-on-demand (VOD) and interactive TV (iTV). For some, the two services are highly synergistic, if not actually dependent on one...

MSOs will make graceful transition to DOCSIS 1.1. (Predictions).
January 1, 2002... The cable industry reached a key milestone last September, when two cable modems and two cable modem termination systems obtained the elusive DOCSIS 1.1 stamp from CableLabs. On top of that, CableLabs froze the specs for PacketCable, and...

Three predictions for 2002. (Predictions).
January 1, 2002... The Year 2001 will be remembered in the telecommunications industry as a time like no other, when seemingly infallible broadband companies filed for bankruptcy, fierce Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) rivals sought unity, and when a once...

Bringing businesses and buildings online. (Predictions).
January 1, 2002... Will the unserved get served in 2002? Not unless some deep-seeded issues in the BLEC (Building Local Exchange Carrier) and MDU (Multi-dwelling unit) industries find remedy--and fast. Currently, the unserved are the thousands of small- and...

Thin clients continue their reign, while `stout' boxes creep in. (Predictions).
January 1, 2002... The "thin-client" mantra will likely continue through most of 2002, as cable operators squeeze everything they can out of the millions of digital boxes they have already deployed to offer limited enhanced and interactive television...

Four fiber trends in 2002. (Predictions).
January 1, 2002... A rebound in construction There will be a definite rebound in broadband access fiber infrastructure construction in 2002, when compared to the relatively low levels that prevailed during 2001. Continued infrastructure improvements are...

Bandwidth management and monitoring importance to grow. (Predictions).
January 1, 2002... As consumers e-mail larger and larger files, peer-to-peer applications become more and more prevalent and new broadband services such as VOD continue to enter the fold, the need for proper bandwidth management and monitoring methods will...

Return path and reliability to the max. (Predictions).
January 1, 2002... Though it's easy to get caught up in all of the technological change going in to cable networks today, there's evolution happening alongside the changes to network infrastructure that shouldn't be overlooked--namely in the areas of network...

Critical mass VOD? Not yet. (Predictions).
January 1, 2002... Though video-on-demand clearly has the initiative and the momentum, the service will certainly not obtain a semblance of critical mass by the end of 2002. Still, several MSOs, including Time Warner Cable, Adelphia, Comcast, Cox, Charter,...

Wireless routing comes home. (Predictions).
January 1, 2002... I know what you're thinking. That once again, we'll be predicting that this is the year of the home network. Well, you're right... but this time, we mean it. True, analysts have been beating the home networking drum for the past couple of...

Open sesame for OSS? (Predictions).
January 1, 2002... Operation support systems (OSS) are increasingly gaining attention from an every-growing number of broadband service providers. As upgraded systems begin offering new and more operationally complex services, the pressure is mounting for ops to...

Power to the providers. (Predictions).
January 1, 2002... Power isn't sexy. Power isn't even cool. For many of us, consumer and service provider alike, it's something we often take for granted, something we deal with only when it's suddenly unavailable. And when it's off, it becomes really important,...

Network PVR, sidecar PVR to make strides. (Predictions).
January 1, 2002... In addition to a new wave of set-tops with on-board PVR capabilities, digital video storage and "personal" recording on the network and in home-based "sidecar" PVRs will take on a much larger role in 2002, as the technology behind both...

A BLEC resurrection? (Predictions).
January 1, 2002... In the past 12 months, BLECs (Building Local Exchange Companies) have come under incredible scrutiny and are widely criticized for their failure to establish a successful business. Early in the year, there were almost daily reports of one...

2002 means technology payback time. (Predictions).
January 1, 2002... Consolidation, operation, capitalization and digitization will define cables Year 2002, with prudent management, tough cost efficiencies and realistic business models dominating the industry's new year, concludes a cross-section of operators,...

Broadband dreariness: this too shall pass. (Predictions).
January 1, 2002... Being an optimist is a tough business these days. Signs of buoyancy are harder and harder to find, but acknowledging that often flies in the face of simple tact. As Franklin D. Roosevelt once said--re-circulating a proverb dating to the late...

Cable telephony--moving slowly but surely. (Predictions).
January 1, 2002... For most cable TV operators, their telephony business is on hold while traditional circuit-switched technology migrates to Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) based telephony. Questions about the viability of the telephony business for...

Home networking: market on the verge. (Predictions).
January 1, 2002... With the advent of "no new wires," home networking technologies (phoneline, wireless and powerline) have moved from the blackboard to the real world. A number of companies have identified the home networking market as important not only from a...

Fixed wireless: act two yet to come. (Predictions).(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Fixed wireless has become somewhat of a pariah in the eyes of many. This view is largely the result of several high-profile failures among fixed wireless carriers and the subsequent financial hardships that their former suppliers have faced....