CED articles from March 2003

CED archives from March 2003

Is SBC `fight' for DirecTV? (in perspective).(SBC Communications Inc. possible takeover of DIRECTV Inc.)
March 1, 2003... My friend Steve is one of those guys who never seems to be able to make up his mind. He's a nice guy, but he can't make an important decision to save his life. You know the type-he's the guy who mulls over options for so long that decisions...

Retail group calls out MSOs, CableLabs. (Up front: latest news and insight).(Consumer Electronics Retailers Coalition, multisystem operators, Cable Television Laboratories Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... A coalition of consumer electronics companies argued to the Federal Communications Commission that cable operators, by not giving high-speed customers economic incentives to buy cable modems via retail, are roadblocking the equipment's retail...

Liberty looks to the (friendly?) skies. (Up front: latest news and insight).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Not long after Liberty Satellite & Technology Inc. agreed to pump more cash into struggling broadband satellite company WildBlue Communications, the company inked a deal to snap up the assets of Astrolink LLC. The Liberty Media subsidiary...

Samsung signs `two-way' PHILA license. (Up front: latest news and insight).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Samsung Electronics America Inc. has become the latest consumer electronics company to sign the CableLabs POD-Host Interface License Agreement (PHILA). With PHILA, Samsung said it intends to manufacture and market the first two-way...

DOCSIS shipments top 10M in 2002. (Up front: latest news and insight).
March 1, 2003... Buoyed by strong international sales, global shipments of DOCSIS cable modems flew past the 10 million mark in 2002, a 25 percent jump over the prior year, according to Kinetic Strategies Inc. Though DOCSIS sales in North America ticked up...

Tele-Media launches VoIP in Va. (Up front: latest news and insight).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Tele-Media Corp. has teamed with Gemini Voice Solutions Inc. to offer IP telephony to cable customers in Virginia. Tele-Media, which serves 250,000 cable subscribers in nine states, is now offering U.S. calling plans for local and long distance...

Nicholas out, Ross in as Broadcom re-tools. (Up front: latest news and insight).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Broadcom Corp. President and CEO Dr. Henry Nicholas III said he will resign from the company "to attend to serious family matters." Nicholas will serve out his current term as co-chairman of the company's board, but will not seek re-election...

SCTE offers listserv en Espanol. (Up front: latest news and insight).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers has launched a new listserv for Spanish-speaking engineers and technicians, a project whose roots are traced to the Society's "Operacion Espanol" workforce development and diversity program. The...

SONICblue combo features mini DVR. (Up front: latest news and insight).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... SONICblue Inc. has unveiled the Go-Video DV6430, calling it the first DVD/VCR combo to add live TV control. Though it won't be capable of storing most TV programs in their entirety, the approach could give users the TV pause time they need to...

Syndeo taps Vaughan as CEO. (Up front: latest news and insight).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Syndeo Corp., maker of Class 5 soft-switches, has named John Vaughan as its CEO, and appointed cable vet David Van Valkenburg to its board of directors. Vaughan succeeds company co-founder Ted Griggs, who was named chairman of the board...

Interactive Enterprise scores OSS deal. (Up front: latest news and insight).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Comporium Communications has forged a deal to deploy Interactive Enterprise's "Conexon" SS platform to provision broadband services. Comporium will tap Conexon to manage service provisioning for residential high-speed data services....

Ucentric sets sights on 802.11g. (Up front: latest news and insight).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Ucentric Systems has unveiled a home network platform designed to deliver broadcast-quality MPEG-2 video over 802.11g, an emerging wireless protocol that supports throughputs as high as 54 Mbps. Compatible with widely-deployed 802.11b,...

Rainmaker becomes Broadband Physics. (Up front: latest news and insight).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Rainmaker Technologies Inc. has changed its name to Broadband Physics Inc. and has appointed Mark Laubach as president and CEO. Laubach, a Com21 Inc. co-founder, most recently served as CTO at Rainmaker/Broadband Physics. Broadband...

Transport firms, server vendors complete interop work. (Up front: latest news and insight).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... With Gigabit Ethernet all but becoming the transport of choice for new video-on-demand deployments, VOD server and system vendors and their transport cousins have quickly put the finishing touches on a spate of interoperability pacts. ...

Audet takes reins at Lemur Networks. (Up front: latest news and insight).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Andrew Audet has resurfaced as the CEO of Lemur Networks Inc., an operational support system (OSS) start-up based in Eatontown, N.J. In addition to serving as CEO, Audet will also join Lemur's board of directors. Audet takes over the CEO...

Study: big dogs to pave WLAN's future path. (Up front: latest news and insight).
March 1, 2003... Although wireless LAN (WLAN) technology is already making some serious strides into the mainstream, the sector will establish its future via the support of big technology and telecom companies coupled by lower price points and standardization,...

Making its mark: a variety of high-profile projects headed up by CableLabs are enabling the cable industry to put its proverbial brand on broadband.
March 1, 2003... Whether it's work tied to high-speed data, digital and high-definition television, IP telephony or video-on-demand, CableLabs has more than its share of irons in the fire these days. Keeping track of all of those activities throughout each...

Have we got a deal for you ...! Are operators ready to invest in DOCSIS 2.0, or are they just kicking the tires?
March 1, 2003... Upstream, downstream and any stream related to revenue is the chant being heard in cable industry boardrooms. Now, you can add the DOCSIS 2.0 standard to the revenue chorus, albeit in lower tones. DOCSIS (Data-Over-Cable Service Interface...

Moving up to business class: MSO access networks can provide telco alternative. (Fiber line: fiber optic technology).
March 1, 2003... In the U.S. alone, the MSOs' networks [pass 5.5 million small- and medium-size Il businesses that represent billions of dollars of revenue opportunity that is largely untapped. These businesses are primarily served by the wireline network...

Design challenges for home gateway devices: dissecting the hardware and software architecture of the gateway. (Networking: advanced networking technology).
March 1, 2003... The ubiquity of broadband connectivity and advancements in home networking technology introduce into the market a new breed of consumer premise equipment termed "home gateways" or "residential gateways." The home gateway is a consumer device...

Who will be the SME business services' darling? MSOs and telcos are competing to win the market. (Broadband: business and news perspective).
March 1, 2003... Telephone companies should be bracing themselves for some new competition. For all telcos, it's been a tough couple of years. First, the number of their access lines has declined because of cellular phone growth and deregulated local access....

Homeland security hits home. (In the loop).
March 1, 2003... As Bob Dylan once sung, "The times they are a-changin'." These are certainly tumultuous, fast-changing times, with clouds of war. unrest and terror hanging over us. Such times point up the need for quick and effective emergency alert...

Fine-tuning digital: capex is flat, but operators look to new set of services to foot the bill. (Analyst's Corner).
March 1, 2003... Cable's historic capital expenditures might be on a downward trend, but operators are beginning to tap their newly-upgraded networks to usher in a batch of revenue-generating services such as video-on-demand (VOD) and high-definition television...

Fusion splicer for FTTH. (new products).(fiber-to-the-home)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... TOKYO, Japan--Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd. has developed a new fiber optic fusion splicer (S121A), which is suited for applications including LANs (local area networks) and FTTH (fiber-to-the-home) services. The S121A Fusion Splicer offers a new...

Miniature cable hangers. (new products).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... ORLAND PARK, Ill. -- Andrew Corp. has introduced a new line of Miniature Click-On hangers designed to facilitate easier and less expensive installation of small Heliax coaxial cables, and braided cable runs. Each hanger can accommodate two runs...

Network resource management. (Software).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... VANCOUVER, Canada -- Incognito Software has launched its Network Resource Commander framework, a carrier-scale network resource management solution with products encompassing IP address, domain name system (DNS), and registration management....

Optical broadcast switch. (new products).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... IRVINE, Calif. -- Advanced Optical MEMS Inc. (AOMEMS) has announced its 8x8 Optical Broadcast Switch. The all-optical, opto-mechanical broadcast switch is designed for applications that require information from a source being distributed to...

Fiber optic cleaning kits. (new products).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... MANASQUAN, N.J. -- Delaire USA Inc., an RF and fiber optic cable manufacturer and an Agilent Channel Partner, has announced that fiber optic cleaning kits are now available for purchase. One of the most important aspects of fiber optic...

Monitoring optical networks. (new products).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- GL Communications has announced a new tool to test, analyze, simulate and monitor optical networks. The new product is the Ultra OC-3 Card, which comes with OC-3, STS-1, T-3, T-1 and E-1 interfaces. The board can add and...

Passive CWDM modules. (new products).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Tsunami, a Stratos Lightwave company focused on developing components and modules for optical communications networks, has introduced its new MetroChannel 16-channel CWDM passive multiplexer and demultiplexer modules. The...

Tightening the broadcast analog loopholes. (capital currents).
March 1, 2003... When Congress amended amended Section 309 of the Communications Act in 1997 to require TV stations to shut down their analog NTSC broadcasts in 2006, it also created a set of big fuzzy loopholes that allow the FCC to grant extensions of time....

Cracking the code: the emergence of Sony's Passage technology could drive a wedge into a long-standing digital duopoly.
March 1, 2003... Let's be honest. The unveiling of Sony's Passage technology at the 2002 Western Cable Show was the news of the confab. Nothing else, in terms of potential, and perhaps disruptive, implications for the cable industry even came close. Passage was...

Teaching an old dog new tricks: with cable increasingly putting the squeeze on its telco competition with bundles of voice, video and data, is the time right for telephone companies to outfit their copper fines for video services?
March 1, 2003... Telephone companies are looking over their shoulders, casting a wary eye on cable operators that are taking away hundreds of thousands of voice customers and shaking the once-solid foundations of incumbent telephone operators. It's beginning to...