CED articles from July 2001

CED archives from July 2001

Profits, not promises.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Much to the chagrin of the company's executives, AT&T Broadband was again the center of attention of many conversations at last month's National Cable & Telecommunications Association annual convention in Chicago. Unlike in years past, however,...

TVN joins with Concurrent, nCUBE for VOD.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... nCUBE Corp. has validated TVN's video-on-demand (VOD) asset management and distribution systems for use with its n4 streaming video appliance. Concurrent Corp. has also successfully validated TVN's Digital Content Express VOD asset management...

Gatespace to ally with Digital Pockets.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Gatespace is partnering with Digital. Pockets Inc. to develop service gateway applications for single-family home and multi-dwelling units in the U.S. Homebuilders of "intelligent communities" and service providers to those residences will...

Equator launches Dolphin and StingRay.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Equator Technologies Inc. recently unveiled its new Dolphin reference design platform. The company also introduced the StingRay reference board, an advanced development board designed to support Equator's MAP-CA Broadband Signal Processor (BSP)...

TollBridge unveils new multi-protocol voice processing card.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... TollBridge Technologies recently introduced the Voice III module that targets the latest voice over broadband access standards including NCS, MGCP, BLES AAL5 and BLES AAL2. This voice processing card delivers the highest available densities for...

BigBand Networks announces next-generation broadcast grooming device.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... BigBand Networks Inc. recently announced the availability of Broadcast Grooming for the company's Broadband Multimedia-Service Router (BMR), which provides cable MSOs with a multi-port, carrier-class grooming solution featuring efficiency,...

ASBPE.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... ASBPE is an editors-only organization that honors business publications both regionally and nationally. In the "Editorial Excellence: Individual Profile Under 80,000" category, CED's Editorial Director, Roger Brown, received the Bronze Award at...

DSL industry unites for CVoDSL specs.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... If Voice-over-DSL hopes to make a dent in the market and win consumers over, interoperability issues must be overcome and standards could be the answer. A group of DSL companies are banding together to promote Channelized VoDSL. CVoDSL chipsets...

Philips and OpenTV announce support for Nexperia.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Philips Semiconductors, a division of Philips Electronics, will port OpenTV's interactive television (iTV) middleware to the Philips Semiconductors' Nexperia Home Entertainment Engine line. The integration of OpenTV's iTV middleware solution...

Prime time for interactive TV.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Broadcasters, content providers and software vendors are preparing for a revolution in the way consumers watch television. The developing interactive TV (ITV) array of services, which were being used by 14.9 million households at the end of...

IPCablecom specs released.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute recently released specifications defining an advanced IP architecture for cable systems called IPCablecom, an evolution of CableLabs'...

Motorola to qualify Microtune amplifier chips with modems.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Motorola plans to qualify Microtune's RF silicon amplifier chips with its line of cable modems and digital set-top terminals. The contract will enable operators to provide customers with advanced video, voice and data services. Microtune will...

Optical Solutions and Motorola develop home entertainment solution.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Network service providers with fiber-to-the-home networks can now offer customers an advanced set-top system for enjoying a wide range of consumer broadband multimedia services such as digital-quality broadcast TV, high-speed Web access, 2-D...

CableLabs debuts CableB2B royalty-free IPR pool creation.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... CableLabs recently announced that 20 companies have joined a royalty-free pool for intellectual property rights (IPR) in CableLabs' CableB2B program. The CableB2B program is an initiative to create specs to support the automation of regular,...

Pace signs one of the largest orders for IPTV with Myrio.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Pace Micro Technology Americas has signed one of the industry's largest orders for IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) with Myrio Corp. Under the terms of this agreement, Myrio has agreed to purchase 85,000 home gateways. The initial order will be...

AlphaStar International.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... AlphaStar International is providing satellite broadband access directly to commercial and institutional, users as part of its SkyCrossing Direct service. It provides access directly from satellites to dishes mounted at the user's premises....

CableLabs concludes 18th certification wave.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... CableLabs has concluded the 18th Certification Wave of DOCSIS equipment. A total of 17 cable modems received CableLabs' Certification in this wave. The equipment certified is part of the DOCSIS 1.0 specification. Three new companies including...

West Virginia changing the way the state communicates.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... The Governor's Office of Technology (GOT) recently announced a cutting-edge initiative that will change the way West Virginians communicate electronically. The state is supporting the creation of a next-generation network. This proposed network...

Panasonic and Jetstream partner to deliver a broadband telephone.(Matsushita Electric Corporation of America)(Jetstream Communications Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Panasonic and Jetstream Communications are partnering to deliver a Broadband Telephone for integrated consumer communications services. Pooling of technical and marketing resources will result in a new class of product with ease of use,...

STMicroelectronics introduces HDTV chip.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... STMicroelectronics has introduced an advanced HDTV encoder IC called the STi7020, and the STV0397, a multi-channel VoIP processor for cable network-based telephony products. The STi7020 contains multiple stream MPEG high definition...

Value-added services to beef up struggling DSL industry.(digital subscriber line)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Value-added services such as virtual private networking, voice-over-DSL, VOD and MPEG music will give the struggling DSL industry a shot in the arm, a new report says. The "Enabling Value-Added Services Over DSL Networks: Market Opportunities...

PowerTV's Customer Care & Education software opens new communication channels to subscribers.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Behind the excitement and potential of digital TV lies a fundamental obstacle. If subscribers can't understand the technology or become frustrated with delays or other service problems, adoption rates might suffer. PowerTV's Customer Care &...

Putting our best face forward.(value of customer support technicians)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Just read your "In perspective" and "Point of entry" columns. Amen! Ditto! I have long been a proponent of upgrading the requirements for the "point of contact tech," call it what you will, customer support technician, broadband premise...

A new ERA of Testing.(test and measuring equipment)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... To meet the demands of testing in the new world of converged services, manufacturers of test equipment are refining their products, and the very structure of their companies As cable TV technology has advanced to the point where many MSOs...

TAKE THAT!(National Cable and Telecommunications Association's 2001 convention)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Showing its technological might in an impressive display at last month's Cable 2001 convention, the cable industry appears ready to take on all competitors While there wasn't a lot of chest pounding in Chicago last month, the cable...

Evolution, not revolution.(SUPERCOMM 2001 conference)(optical network industry)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Next-gen optical networks take a measured approach SUPERCOMM attendance last month reached an all-time-high, but one couldn't escape the dark cloud hanging over the event--the stock market's love affair with technology has dimmed, investor...

All souped up, and no place to go.(advanced digital cable-television set-top boxes)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Advanced digital set-tops are gone today, here tomorrow Thick versus thin. Advanced versus existing. Two ways to say the same thing: When it comes to digital set-top boxes, there's the now, and there's the next. The "now," in...

Multicell migration boosts network capacity.(fixed wireless and mobile networks)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Add capacity as needed, while keeping the cost per sub low Operators of fixed wireless networks have an advantage over their counterparts who operate mobile networks. Because fixed networks don't have to factor mobility into the network...

Rogers upgrades network to boost reliability.(Rogers Cable TV Ltd.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... MSO invests millions in forceful response to bad PR Rogers Cable is as mad as hell, and is not going to take it anymore: at least, when it comes to public bashing of the Rogers@Home high-speed Internet service. Figure 1: Rogers@Home...

Testing cable products for the real world.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Impairment testing moves up the chain of priorities Today's business and technical communities agree that there is a solid future for expansion in the cable-based communications industry. With this prospect comes an additional set of...

The new economics of testing.(network equipment)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... As networks grow in complexity, operators demand more value from test gear Testing the reliability and integrity of today's complex multi-million-dollar networks isn't just an operational afterthought anymore. Revenue stakes are rising,...

For the common good.(teamwork in the high technology industry)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... I can never remember who first said it, but I've never forgotten the pronouncement, "We must all hang together, or we will all hang separately." While the consequences in the situations I've applied this concept to are never as dire a life...

Delivering service in the packet cable world.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Plenty of obstacles could hang up modem provisioning Much ink has already been spilled on the basic issues that surround today's cable modem deployments. Many cable modem provisioning processes remain labor-intensive, and most of the manual...

Altrio picks Harmonic optical gear.(Altrio Communications Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... SUNNYVALE, Calif.--Altrio Communications said it will deploy a wide range of optical equipment from Harmonic Inc. to help the overbuilder create a planned southern California services network, which the company expects to pass roughly 600,000...

Sigma Systems, BusinessEdge partner.(Sigma Systems Group)(BusinessEdge Solutions)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... CHICAGO--Sigma Systems Group is partnering with BusinessEdge Solutions, an OSS integration firm, to deliver integrated back-office solutions to their customers in the cable industry. Both companies recently completed a high-speed Internet...

Com21 seals transition of ComUNITY Access to Cork.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... CORK, Ireland--Com21 Inc. has completed the transition of its ComUNITY Access System development activities to its European Development Center in Cork, Ireland. The decision to focus activities in Cork was driven by the international demand for...

BarcoNet, Philips commit to open platform digital TV.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... KORTRIJK, Belgium--The integration of Philips Digital Networks' CryptoWorks conditional access system (CA) has successfully been tested on BarcoNet's Krypton DVB Simulcrypt-compliant transport stream scrambler, according to the two companies....

SCTE committee bolsters working groups.(Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... EXTON, Pa.--The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) said its construction and maintenance subcommittee has formed five new working groups: regulatory and safety guidelines (chaired by CommScope's Chris Gemme); multi-family...

Trilithic breaks ground on new site.(Indianapolis, Indiana)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... INDIANAPOLIS--With the help of Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson and Indiana Lieutenant Governor Joe Kernan, Trilithic Inc. Chairman and CEO Bruce Malcom recently broke ground on the company's new $5.6 million headquarters. Located in the...

EAS switch.(Trilithic Inc)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.--Trilithic Inc.'s E.A.S. Division has announced its new SW-1 switch, designed for composite IF switching and deployment using the company's LS-16P IF distribution amplifier. The SW-1 (patent no. 6020913) is about one-inch...

Fiber optic cable.(Superior Telecom Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... ATLANTA--Superior TeleCom Inc., through its Superior Essex Communications Group, has announced its new ultra-high-bandwidth TeraGain XT fiber optic cable product line for LAN applications. The 62.5 micron TeraGain XT fiber line is engineered to...

Fiber optic distribution system.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... LIBERTY LAKE, Wash.--Telect Inc. has unveiled its new Advanced Distribution Frame (ADF), a fiber optic distribution system designed to accommodate emerging technologies in high fiber count cable TV headends, central offices and gateways. With...

Geospatial dimension to OSS.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... HUNTSVILLE, Ala.--Intergraph Communications Solutions has introduced a suite of geospatial operations support system solutions (G/OSS) for the communications industry. The G/OSS solutions provide end-to-end network infrastructure design and...

Signal level meter.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... CYPRESS, Calif.--Leader Instruments Corp. has released its LF 983, the latest in its series of TV/cable/satellite signal level meters. The meter has the ability to provide accurate RF level readings for analog and digital broadcasts employing...

Network interface device.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... HICKORY, N.C.--Corning Cable Systems has announced its new network interface device, an all-plastic enclosure designed to house active components for the fiber-to-the-home and broadband access markets, including cable TV telephony,...

Wireless router.(HighSpeed Surfing)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... CHICAGO--HighSpeed Surfing Inc. has launched a versatile wireless router. The 11 Mbps wireless router is equipped with a four-port auto sensing 10 or 100 Mbps fast Ethernet switch, one uplink push button provided for cascading to another hub or...

Powering.(Generac Power Systems)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... CHICAGO--Generac Power Systems has introduced its Modular Power System (MPS), which combines two or more smaller diesel gensets in a side-by-side parallel arrangement. Because the modular generators can be operated singly or in concert with...

Erbium-doped fiber.(StockerYale Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... SALEM, N.H.--StockerYale Inc. has introduced its new line of erbium-doped fiber, a critical sub-component used in the development and manufacture of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs). As a result of the intrinsic properties of erbium,...

ITV tools.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... CHICAGO--Mixed Signals Technologies has unveiled its Interactive Producer Bundle, a suite of ITV hardware and software tools designed to enable traditional video, Internet and multimedia producers to generate broadcast-ready ITV content. ...

Outside plant.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... CHICAGO--TVC Communications is now offering its MaxCell geo-textile innerduct in a 1.25-inch, 1-cell configuration. The "TearDrop" MaxCell is specifically designed to allow two cables to be placed in the confined space of a 1.25-inch...

EDFA.(Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... DULUTH, Ga.--Antec has added a high-power (20 dBm) gain flattened erbium doped fiber amplifier to its product portfolio. The GF-EDFA, which amplifies signals in the 1550 nm band, is complementary with the company's existing Laser Link 1550 nm...

Monitoring equipment.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
July 1, 2001... CHICAGO--AM Communications Inc. has announced the availability of a wide range of monitoring solutions for Scientific-Atlanta headend equipment, including S-A Continuum, Prisma and Prisma DT. The Continuum and Prisma solutions are...

Home networking.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... CHICAGO--Phonex Broadband Corp. has introduced the PX 801 Neverwire 14 product, which company officials say is the first product to transmit voice and data over existing home electrical wiring at rates as high as 14 Mbps. Developed using...

Class-5 switch alternative.(Product Announcement)(Abstract)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... CHICAGO--Gallery IP Telephony Inc. has introduced CAssiopeia, a carrier class call agent/SoftSwitch Products Suite. The products suite is a central office class-5 switch alternative. The suite supports convergent IP over cable TV and PSTN...

Installation software.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... AUSTIN, Texas--BroadJump has announced version 2.0 of its Virtual Truck Installer, an installation solution for residential broadband access. With the new version, service providers can more efficiently manage the installation of residential...

Coarse WDM.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
July 1, 2001... SUNNYVALE, Calif.--Alliance Fiber Optic Products Inc. has released its SpectraMux line of four-channel and eight-channel Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CWDM) modules for cost-effective multichannel access network applications. ...

Copy control complications.
July 1, 2001... Copy protection of digital video has become a much more complicated issue in the last few months. Last year, the cable industry recognized that without copy protection technology in digital set-top boxes, cable operators would not be able to...

Confessing my sins.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... COMMENTATORS, whether they be political, social, sports or otherwise, are often characterized as self-righteous, out-of-touch windbags who often don't understand the complexities of the subjects upon which they espouse. This is especially true...

All in a day's work.
July 1, 2001... We got a glimpse of what it takes to thrive in today's hotly competitive market Talk to any chief executive at any cable TV system--large or small--and ask what they think the key to success in the future will be, and every one of them...

Shining BRIGHT.
July 1, 2001... Some bright ideas from SCTE's 2001 Field Operations Award winners Anybody who knows anything about broadband networks knows that the technology may be dandy, but there's certainly no guarantee it's going to be handy until someone installs...

A SIMPLE LIFE.
July 1, 2001... NEW FIELD PRODUCTS AIMED AT MAKING A TECHNICIAN'S DAY EASIER Personal communication devices, instant access to data and a new generation of tolls and equipment are making the lives, and jobs, of field technicians more productive and less...

PEOPLE who need PEOPLE.
July 1, 2001... Broadband needs good people--now. Three(*) experts, and their broadband peers at a recent SCTE seminar, took a look at some serious issues that can make or break broadband's search for the right stuff. In the well-worn Streisand ballad of...

FREEZE frame.
July 1, 2001... A CED online survey offers a snapshot of what's on the minds of frontline employees To say the broadband telecommunications industry is a moving target would be a vast understatement. While the consolidation frenzy seems to have abated...

TESTING DIGITAL VIDEO.
July 1, 2001... DIGITAL TESTING The advent of digital technology in cable systems has been a tremendous boon to the industry. As new set-top boxes have rolled out to subscribers, cable operators can now offer literally hundreds of channels of video. This...