CED articles from January 2003

CED archives from January 2003

Leaving the baggage behind. (in perspective).(Editorial)
January 1, 2003... I was beginning to think I wouldn't live long enough to see it, but the cable and consumer electronics industries surprised me last month by holding a "love in" in Washington when they jointly announced agreement on a national plug-and-play"...

Vendors step up to form VoIP integration pacts. (Upfront: latest news and insight).
January 1, 2003... Although the technologies required to make IP telephony hum are here already, integrating those piece parts and making them work together is the next big challenge that cable operators will face. Arris and Net2Phone Inc. said they will help...

EchoStar, DirecTV call off DBS party. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Following a string of regulatory setbacks meted out by the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice, the final nail in the proposed merger between EchoStar Communications and Hughes' DirecTV was placed when the DBS...

Toshiba opens the retail gateway. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Toshiba America's Network Products Division (NPD), jumping with both feet into the market for hybrid cable modem/wireless router gateways, is selling its first such product at retail via a deal with CompUSA. Toshiba's PCX5000 DOCSIS...

Knology strikes up BigBand. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Knology said it is deploying BigBand Networks Inc.'s flagship Broadband Multimedia-Service Router (BMR) in its systems in the southeastern U.S., allowing the overbuilder to consolidate control of its systems in one central location. More...

Tech giants band on national WiFi network effort. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(AT and T Corp.)(Intel Corp.)(International Business Machines Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Three technology giants-AT&T Corp., Intel Corp. and IBM-said they will create a company that will run a nationwide broadband, wireless Internet access service based on WiFi. That company, Cometa Networks, plans to provide services to...

Movidis enters the VOD ring. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(video-on-demand)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Video-on-demand start-up Movidis Inc. has introduced a new media server designed to cut costs to less than $65 per stream. The 3-RU-high Molecular Media Server (MMS) 1000, which sports dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, is anchored to Movidis'...

Arris signs over `Actives' unit to Scientific-Atlanta. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Scientific-Atlanta Inc. has closed a deal to purchase the "Actives" portion of Arris' transmission, optical and outside plant business for $37.5 million. Arris' Actives portion of the business, which generated $44 million in revenue for...

Cablevision taps into Level 3. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Cablevision Systems Corp. has inked a contract with Level 3 Communications for network services tied to the MSO's Optimum Online cable modem service, which is offered in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. "Reliable network performance...

Microsoft notches first IPG deployments. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(interactive program guide)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... After unveiling a new interactive program guide for "thin client" digital boxes at the 2002 National Cable Show last May, Microsoft Corp. said that it has secured its first launches for the new product. Microsoft said Uvision LLC and Willamette...

Terayon in a modular mood. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Taking a "pay as you go" approach to broadband home gateways, Terayon Communication Systems has Launched its CMx line of cable modem extension modules, which snap on to the company's TJ 700 series of DOCSIS 2.0 based modems. Among the...

ANSI greenlights DOCSIS. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(American National Standards Institute)(interoperability specifications for cable modems and cable modem termination systems)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... The American National Standards Institute has approved a first set of standards based on DOCSIS specifications, the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers said. DOCSIS, a set of interoperability specifications for cable modems and...

TI pairs up to support CableHome. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... The stars seem to be aligning in the CableHome world, as residential gateway silicon and software developers continue to join forces. DOCSIS silicon maker Texas Instruments has partnered up with two residential gateway software package...

Major IPTV rollouts still on hold. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Though some big telcos still have their IPTV rollouts on hold, signs are emerging that the technology may become a big entertainment platform in the second half of the decade, forecasts Strategy Analytics, citing a recent survey. In round...

Time Warner Cable taps C-COR.net for OSS. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Time Warner Cable's Oceanic division is deploying C-COR.net Corp.'s ISM (integrated Service Management) system's Network Service Manager (NSM), a plug-in software application module designed to enable cable operators to automate and manage...

Cable modems get a boost in Q3. (Upfront: latest news and insight).
January 1, 2003... Fueled by a strong showing in North America, worldwide shipments of cable modems totaled more than 3 million units in the third quarter of 2002, a 19.4 percent boost versus the same period last year, Gartner Dataquest reported. The...

Maryland ops join AMBER alert plan. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... The Cable and Telecommunications Association of Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia announced that cable systems across Maryland will be available to transmit emergency messages as part of the nation's emerging AMBER (America's...

Study: DVRs are here to stay. (Upfront: latest news and insight).(Digital video recorder)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Digital video recorder technology is hot, and cable operators in particular are warming to the technology on the heels of satellite's introduction of receivers integrated with DVR capability. New projections on the DVR market from IMS...

Soaring above the rest: Chris Bowick has helped position Cox Communications as a dominant provider of video, voice and data services to residential and business customers. (Cover Story).
January 1, 2003... It's a beautiful late autumn afternoon in Atlanta when Chris Bowick climbs into the cockpit of his single-engine, Beechcraft Bonanza aircraft, taxis out to the runway and takes off into the sky above. For him, flight is a source of mental...

Stepping into a brighter tomorrow.(BroadbandPlus show)
January 1, 2003... Though the attendance numbers were lower than ever, the folks who made the pilgrimage to Anaheim for BroadbandPlus (the new Western Show) were guardedly optimistic about the broadband sector at large, hoping that the economy has finally reached...

Delivering on-demand services using GbE: meeting service requirements while lowering CapEx, OpEx. (Fiberline: fiber optic technology).
January 1, 2003... Cable operators are deploying new services such as video-on-demand (VOD) slowly despite the promise of increased margins. Why? Because they are concerned about the capital and operational costs of adding bandwidth-consuming services. However,...

Standards propel DTV forward: how will the TVLA help digital TV deployment? (Networking: advanced networking technology).(digital television)(TV Linux Alliance)
January 1, 2003... With the latest announcement of the TV Linux Alliance (TVLA) specification release, what does this mean for the digital home gateway market, and how does it help promote the deployment of digital TV? This article addresses these questions and...

Blending IP voice and data: resolving OSS data synchronization issues around IP telephony. (Broadband: business and news perspective).
January 1, 2003... Cable operators have outpaced the telcos in the race to offer broadband access. Now that IP protocol has successfully been deployed over hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) networks, cable operators are gearing' up to use a shared IP infra structure that...

A collaborative New Year. (In the loop).
January 1, 2003... One of the thrilling things about the New Year is that it is a separation point of the old from the new-a chance to start again with a different plan. The same might be said for casting off the old ways of implementing institutional...

Digital splitter. (product reviews).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... GILBERT, Ariz. -- PCT International Inc. has introduced its new Tongue & Solder Digital Splitter, part of its Genesys II digital splitter series. The tongue and solder housing combines the shielding effectiveness of solder-back splitters with...

Signal level meter. (product reviews).(from Trilithic Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Trilithic Inc. has debuted its Model Two Signal Level Meter, which builds on its Model One SLM and features additional enhancements. The'Model Two SLM introduces expanded Proof of Performance testing and the ability to...

Single output node. (Fiber Optics).(from C-COR.net Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- C-CORnet Corp. has unveiled its new S2R Single Output Node which, in combination with its CHP Max5000 Converged Headend Platform, offers a system solution to launch HSD, VOD, PVR and VoIP deeper into the HFC network. The...

Channel selector for DWDM networks. (product reviews).(dense wavelength division multiplexing)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... QUEBEC CITY, Canada -- EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering Inc. has introduced its FTB-9310 channel selector for commissioning and lighting channels in dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) networks. The instrument gives operators the...

Amplifier IC. (product reviews).(from ISG Broadband Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... MILPITAS, Calif. -- ISG Broadband has announced a new high dynamic range, programmable 3.3 V amplifier IC designed for use in cable TV upstream applications (the ISG510066). Operating over a frequency range of 5 MHz to 65 MHz, the device's...

Ground-mount enclosures. (product reviews).(from Alpha Technologies inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- Alpha Technologies has expanded its UPE Series of ground-mount enclosures to include three- and six-battery low-profile enclosures. The company has developed the UPE-3L and the UPE-6L for applications with sensitive height...

Ingress management. (product reviews).(Electroline Equipment Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... MONTREAL, Canada - Electroline Equipment Inc. has unveiled its CLEARPath Integrated Module (CPIM), a tool for maintaining a reliable and robust return path in the face of advanced services like telephony, high-speed data and video-on-demand....

RF signal management system. (product reviews).(from PCI Technologies Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... ANAHEIM, Calif. -- PCI Technologies Inc. has designed a new line of RF signal management products-the SCN-Manager. The new product offering consists of complementary forward and return RF management units focused at providing operators with an...

QAM output GigE edge device. (product reviews).(WaveCom Electronics Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... ANAHEIM, Calif. -- WaveCom Electronics has announced the upcoming product release of MARQUIS (MPEG Re-mux and QAM Upconverter Integrated System), a high-density, modular QAM output GigE-based edge device aimed at the interactive and broadcast...

Headend amp. (product reviews).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... ANAHEIM, Calif. -- CableServ has released its new CHAS-HD (CableServ High Density Headend Amplifier Platform). The CHAS-HD is a space efficient, modular headend amplifier system, designed to meet the narrowcasting and return path signal...

nCUBE, Adlink sign pact. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... ANAHEIM, Calif. -- nCUBE Corp. has inked a multimillion dollar contract with Adlink, the Los Angeles Digital Cable Interconnect, to deploy the vendor's digital ad insertion system. Adlink is currently expanding its digital ad insertion...

ADC, Stargus combine forces. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... MINNEAPOLIS -- ADC and Stargus have inked a worldwide reseller agreement that enables ADC to offer MSOs its Cuda IP Access Switch and FastFlow Broadband Provisioning Manager, along with software from Stargus that optimizes network performance...

Incognito reveals small op deals. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Incognito Software has inked deals with tier 3 cable operators Eagle Communications and Norwood Light Department to provide broadband provisioning and IP management tools. As a part of Motorola's Advanced Provisioning...

Hancock to deploy Wave7 gear. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... ALPHARETTA, Ga. -- Hancock Telecom of Maxwell, Ind. has chosen Wave7 Optics' Last Mile Link fiber-to-the-home system to provide customers with voice and high-speed data services. The operator will initially deploy the system to serve new homes...

Harmonic encoders pass DPI test. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Harmonic Inc. said its DiviCom Mv50 encoders completed the fourth phase of CableLabs' Digital Program Insertion (DPI) test suite. The tests, Harmonic added, indicate compliance with the Society of Cable Telecommunications...

Pace marks gateway milestone. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... WEST YORKSHIRE, England - Pace Micro Technology said it reached a milestone with the shipment of its three-millionth digital cable set-top with embedded cable modem functionality. The vendor's first gateway shipment was with U.K.-based...

Standards bodies rule! (capital currents).(Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers)
January 1, 2003... More and more, the cable industry is using technology based on published standards, rather than proprietary technologies. The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) is the cable industry's own standards body. The SCTE has had...

The broadband forecast: we've consulted the double doppler of broadband to help us create a forecast for 2003, estimating which sectors will be hit with cold fronts and which ones will enjoy sunny skies for much of the year.
January 1, 2003... VIDEO-ON-DEMAND Forecast: Hot, hot, hot! Video-on-demand will continue its scorching momentum in 2003, easily becoming the new service of choice among cable operators. While MSOs such as Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable, Charter...

Broadband barometer: CED checks in with some of its favorite analysts to see what forecasts they have in store for 2003. (The Broadband Forecast).
January 1, 2003... TAKES ON TIVO, CONSOLIDATION AND ADULT ENTERTAINMENT I'm going to bet that TiVo gets sold. I love this company, but TiVo doesn't stand much of a chance to fly solo for another year. While its cash burn-rate, business model, (and) technology...

InDepth 2002 timeline. (Year in review).
January 1, 2003... It was another year of surprises for the broadband industry. In addition to looking forward to 2003, we're also taking a look back at some of the significant events that shaped the year that just passed us by. January 2002 Jan. 3...

Hits, whiffs and foul balls from 2002. (The Broadband Forecast).
January 1, 2003... As promised, CED's editors are taking a look back at some of the predictions we made at this time last gear. We ended up looking like broadband Nostradamuses in some cases, but in others, we looked like we'd have a tough time predicting what...

Efficiencies: Techsync[TM]: integrating test and workforce management. (Workflow).
January 1, 2003... The broadband industry and cable MSOs (Multiple System Operators) are intensifying their search for fast, accurate and efficient field communications tools that increase the productivity of field personnel, reduce costs, and gain crucial...

Acterna's DSAM-2500 is key to next-generation workflow solutions. (Workflow).
January 1, 2003... Acterna has long recognized the value of a world-class workforce management strategy and the tools to accompany it. Now, it has blended its decades of experience and a combination of tools and software into a company-wide initiative called...

Q & A.
January 1, 2003... Several questions were posed to Acterna executives regarding workforce management and the company's TechSync initiative. Here are some of their answers: Q: What drove Acterna to start its TechSync initiative? A: We recognized that...