CED articles from May 2001

CED archives from May 2001

Moving away from the center.(importance of cable television installers and service technicians)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... It won't happen overnight, or even this year, but if prognostications about the future come to fruition, front-line personnel like cable TV installers and service techs are about to become some of the most important assets a network operator...

DOCSIS celebrates second year of modem certification.(Samsung Electronics Company Ltd.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... CableLabs recently concluded its most prolific certification wave of high-speed cable modems and headend gear to date. A total of 23 cable modems and five cable modem termination systems (CMTSs) received CableLabs' stamp of approval. The...

Fixed wireless to bridge fiber gap.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Fixed wireless technology could be the Holy Grail, according to a new report. The high-speed service offering is well suited to bridge the gap between the fiber backbone and end users, but there are limitations. The problem facing this growing...

AT&T launches digital phone service.(Minnesota)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... AT&T launched digital phone service last month in five Twin Cities communities. More than 46,000 homes in Brooklyn Center, Crystal Coolden Valley, New Hope and Robbinsdale, Minn. can now choose AT&T Broadband for local phone service as well as...

Cable Center introduces Third Millennium Fund.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... The Cable Center announced the launch last month of the Third Millennium Fund, an ongoing fundraising campaign designed to provide resources for a variety of key initiatives operated through The Center. Donations of $100 to the Third...

TI introduces new DSL technology.(Texas Instruments, high-speed line-driver and receiver systems technology)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Texas Instruments (TI) has introduced a new family of high-speed line-driver and receiver systems designed for CPE modems used in ADSL broadband communications. The products are designed to decrease the noise floor of the downstream signal,...

LSI Logic buying C-Cube.(LSI Logic Corporation to acquire C-Cube Microsystems Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... LSI Logic Corp. will acquire C-Cube Microsystems Inc. in an all-stock transaction valued at $878 million. Under terms of the transaction announced in March, each outstanding share of C-Cube common stock will be exchanged for 0.79 of a share of...

DTTV prepares for growth.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Television broadcasting has already begun the most difficult and comprehensive transition in its history--converting from analog to digital. The nascent digital terrestrial television (DTTV) market, whose signals were only received by 1.3...

Gemstar-TV Guide integrates with Wink.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Wink Communications Inc. and Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. recently announced an agreement to integrate Wink's interactive television services on the Motorola/General Instrument DCT-2000 digital set-top platforms running the TV Guide...

Liberate teams with Charter for interactive services.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Liberate Technologies announced in March an agreement to supply its Liberate TV Platform software to enable interactive services for Charter Communications' digital subscribers via digeo inc., Charter's interactive services provider. This is a...

Motorola taps Gotuit for PVR functionality.(personal video recorder)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Gotuit Media Corp. announced in March that Motorola's Broadband Communications Sector has agreed to support the integration of Gotuit Media's personalized video product--Gotuit TV--into its DCT-5000 advanced interactive digital set-top...

AFS, Cable & Wireless enter into a dark-fiber agreement.(American Fiber Systems Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... American Fiber Systems (AFS) announced recently that it had been selected by Cable & Wireless to provide metropolitan dark-fiber in several cities in the U.S. Under the terms of the agreement, Cable & Wireless will lease 24 fiber strands on AFS...

Allied Telesyn introduces EncloseNET.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Allied Telesyn International has announced its new line of ready-to-work network solutions, EncloseNET. EncloseNET brings pre-configured, easy-to-install network solutions that promise to make setting up new networks and expanding existing...

RiverDelta intros product for scalable open access.(Siemens AG)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... RiverDelta is introducing a product for Distributed Policy-Based Routing or open access that scales to support multiple ISPs delivering thousands of services over a broadband network. The company also announced Multiprotocol Label Switching...

Concurrent and Pace team up to provide VOD, interactive digital video.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Concurrent Computer Corp. and Pace Micro Technology plc recently announced a strategic partnership which promotes the integration of the two companies' technologies for the deployment of video-on-demand (VOD) and interactive digital video...

ViaGate launches test to deliver TV over telephone lines.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... ViaGate Technologies announced last month the successful launch of a telephone company field trial which delivers broadcast television, Internet access and telephony service to business and residential subscribers in Tennessee over twisted pair...

VoDSL revenue set to explode, report says.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Revenue from the small business market for VoDSL will soon explode at a compound annual growth rate of 156 percent, from $169 million in 2001 to $7.2 billion in 2005, according to a new report by Research First ConsuLting, "Enriching the...

BWIF establishes certification program.(Broadband Wireless Internet Forum)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... The Broadband Wireless Internet Forum (BWIF) is in the process of reviewing proposals from major technical labs to test equipment for the wireless transmission of high-speed voice, data and video. Manufacturers will submit their equipment to...

EarthLink launches home networking service.(EarthLink Network Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... EarthLink has launched EarthLink Home Networking, its new wired and wireless home-networking service. The service provides EarthLink broadband subscribers with co-branded versions of 2Wire Inc.'s HomePortal 100 and HomePortal 1000 residential...

Research identifies market for connected home.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Internet Home Alliance, a non-profit association of high-tech consumer companies formed to enhance consumers' understanding and adoption of the Internet lifestyle, recently announced the results of a custom survey that addressed consumers'...

S-A gives PowerTV booster shot.(Scientific-Atlanta Inc. acquires PowerTV Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Scientific-Atlanta (S-A) has purchased all of the outstanding shares of PowerTV not already owned by S-A. Due to the absence of a public market for PowerTV shares under current market conditions, a tender offer was made to provide liquidity to...

MORE POWER TO THE PEOPLE.(energy supply to cable and telecommunications industry)
May 1, 2001... Power is so ubiquitous, so cheap and generally so reliable that most of us simply take it for granted. Power outages of long duration are newsworthy events. But when you're building--or rebuilding--a network that delivers voice, video and data...

PLUG 'N PLAY?(new Internet technology equipment access)
May 1, 2001... For auto-provisioning, Internet access is just the beginning There's nothing like success. High-speed Internet access has taken hold in both large and small networks alike. Digital set-tops are being deployed by the millions....

Structured Wiring.(smart home services)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2001... pipe dreams? Future shock: Will unrealistic expectations for structured wiring prove hollow for cable operators? Home builders peddling structured wiring packages and home networking dreams are increasingly enticing new home buyers...

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND.(return path maintenance, cable television broadcast industry)
May 1, 2001... THE DAYS OF LETTING THE SUBSCRIBER ACT AS THE RETURN PATH MONITORING DEVICE ARE GONE. IN TODAY'S ENVIRONMENT, OPERATORS MUST MAKE RETURN PATH MAINTENANCE A DAILY RITUAL. Return path maintenance: it's perhaps the most important, yet least...

Revving up for data services.
May 1, 2001... Creating optical Ethernet networks with resilient packet ring The service mix of cable TV (MSO) operators has grown significantly in the last few years. Cable operators have gone from distributing traditional broadcast video content to...

A tale of two trials.(Time Warner Cable and AT&T Broadband )
May 1, 2001... Time Warner Cable and AT&T Broadband are testing open access approaches in Columbus, Ohio and Boulder, Colo. Sometimes, technologies which work similarly under the hood are put to use for different purposes. Those different purposes are...

Open sesame?(Open Services Gateway Initiative)
May 1, 2001... OSGi seeks to unlock home networks and more When you want to deliver a host of services from a WAN to a LAN, who you gonna call? According to the 80-plus members of the non-profit Open Services Gateway Initiative (OSGi-www.osgi.org),...

Consumers seek nice, tidy bundles.(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2001... Service providers revamp their back offices Consumers want choice and flexibility from their broadband service providers, but building the back office to control multiple services is a complex proposition that most providers are only now...

Profiting from flow-through provisioning.
May 1, 2001... New architecture allows service providers to respond quickly The availability of technology to provide a platform for new services will change the way service providers compete for their customers, moving the battle away from simple price...

Engineering a fluid headend.
May 1, 2001... New services demand flexible signal and cable management The ramp-up to digital is dramatically transforming headend capabilities and capacities. With the growing popularity of cable modems and the increased number of subscribers of...

Testing with noise in the new world of cable.
May 1, 2001... How to verify equipment performance in the real world They say that you cannot stop progress. Progress in the cable TV world today means many things: digital cable, DOCSIS data services (including high-speed Internet service), telephone...

Convergence: It's time to get started.
May 1, 2001... Creating a single managed infrastructure Convergence of all networked systems is just over the horizon. Of course, we've heard this familiar refrain before. Every year, a different breakthrough or product arrives that promises to make good...

Operators brace for energy crunch.
May 1, 2001... California MSOs prepare for blackouts, customer relations problems California's signature "Endless Summer" could turn into an endless bummer as cable operators brace for a wave of utility rate hikes and rolling blackouts resulting from its...

Multiplying instead of dividing.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... There are many faces to that information chasm known as the "Digital Divide." There is the most basic form of the Divide, that results from the still great number of households without any form of PC. Then there are homes with PCs not yet...

Open access service provisioning.
May 1, 2001... From political issue to implementation challenge For the past couple of years, open access was mostly a political matter. Would multiple system operators (MSOs) accept outsiders into their networks and their headends? Or would they battle...

Convergys, RCN sign pact.(Convergys Corp., RCN Corp. licensing agreement)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... CINCINNATI, Ohio--Convergys Corp. has signed a five-year contract with RCN Corp. to license ICOMS, a convergent voice, video and data billing and customer care solution for cable and broadband service providers. RCN is a facilities-based...

TriCounty opens doors on new facility.(TriCounty Enclosures and Fabrication Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... MERCERSBURG, Pa.--TriCounty Enclosures and Fabrication Inc. has opened a new 35,000 square-foot manufacturing facility which is home to the company's sheet metal fabrication operation, which includes shear, punch, form weld and assembly...

TW gives thumbs up to drop sputter.(Time Warner Inc. approves Genesys II drop splitter)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... GILBERT, Ariz.--Time Warner has approved the Genesys II digital drop splitter, manufactured by PCT International (a division of Andes Industries Inc.), for use in its systems nationwide. As cable modems, digital set-tops, and broadband...

Harmonic ships 10,000 MPEG-2 encoders.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... SUNNYVALE, Calif.--Harmonic Inc. says it has shipped more than 10,000 MPEG-2 encoders to its customers worldwide. Service providers and broadcasters have deployed the encoders at more than 400 sites spanning more than 40 countries and six...

Phonex: Installations to hit 7M nodes by mid-year.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... MIDVALE, Utah--Phonex Broadband Corp. says it expects shipments of its Wireless Modem and Phone Jack systems to reach seven million nodes by mid-2001. The company's technology transmits voice and data signals over home electrical wiring. ...

SCTE awards personal growth.(Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... EXTON, Pa.--The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) has named Paul D'Arcangelo, Mark Giblin and Suzanne Holzer as recipients of its 2001 Personal Achievement Awards. Presented annually, the awards recognize active SCTE members...

DemandVideo licenses BBC programming.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... NEW YORK--Numerous BBC programs will now be available via video-on-demand to DemandVideo's affiliates, according to a recent agreement between BBC Sales Co. and DemandVideo. The initial programs in the agreement are for a variety of children's...

USOL acquires cable passings from Sprint.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... AUSTIN, Texas--USOL Holdings Inc. has acquired selected assets of People's Choice TV of Houston Inc., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Sprint Corp. The acquisition includes 5,145 cable passings at 20 apartment communities in the Houston...

newproducts.(Wireless Bypass Inc.)
May 1, 2001... PRODUCT REVIEW Fiber optic signal management ORLANDO, Fla.--PCI Technologies Inc. has introduced its new line of fiber optic signal management equipment. PCI Optix is a complete line of optical couplers, WDM and DWDM modules. It is...

business people.(Shai Adler to CEO of APPower!)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Shai Adler has been named CEO, and Laks Sampath has been appointed director of product management at APPower! In his role as CEO, Adler will be responsible for securing additional capital financing and managing the overall organization. Most...

Pie in the sky?(Boeing Co.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... A long time ago, my CED column was about two proposals to deliver live radio programming to airline passengers. Neither one ever flew. But there s nothing new under the sun, and to prove it, now I'm writing about four proposals to deliver TV...

A new class of service.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... I'M GENERALLY NOT a betting man, but I'd be willing to gamble a paycheck that you've recently been so disappointed because of a lack of customer service somewhere that you at least muttered under your breath, "Service just isn't what it used to...

BACK OFFICE.
May 1, 2001... PIECING TOGETHER A WORLD-CLASS OPERATION The integration of complex, sophisticated and costly "back office" systems is prompting a fundamental change in how cable operators choose their software, hardware, equipment and system management...

Assembling the back office kit.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Back office functions at most cable systems are undergoing a dramatic transformation as telephony, digital video and interactive services expand, bringing with them the potential for impressive new revenues. Getting to those revenues,...

bridging THE GAP.
May 1, 2001... Customer support/back office operations Independent operators are walking a fine line trying to balance local strengths and their need to support advanced services economically and efficiently Less is more. Small is good. On the face...

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE.
May 1, 2001... As cable operators prepare to provide open access to their broadband networks, they must zero in on a host of complicated operational and technical challenges, including preparing the back office for multiple transactions from multiple ISPs ...

Data to the masses.(RadioShack Corp.)
May 1, 2001... Cable operators are turning to RadioShack's familiar and comforting red neon glow to give consumers the confidence to install their own modems RadioShack, the ubiquitous electronics store that techies and hobbyists have been turning to for...

A New Era of Profitability.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Cable operators have made the decision to migrate to IP telephony and the triple play of services--video, voice and data--and the investments are in place to elevate the cable industry to the next level of revenues, with IP-based services being...

Service Provisioning In An Open Access Environment.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... The increasing availability of compelling high-speed content and applications on the Internet is attracting customers to the unique advantages of broadband cable technology. This development offers broadband cable operators a significant...

A Topic That's Widely Discussed These Days.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... When cable industry executives talk about open access, they spend lots of time on the protocols and network architectures involved--and too little time on the consequences that the architecture and the protocols have on the CMTS. The...

Cuda 12000 IP Access Switch.(ADC)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... ADC's Cuda 12000 IP Access Switch is the first true carrier-class platform designed to meet the specific needs of cable applications. This award-winning, CableLabs-qualified system allows cable operators to deploy a wide range of...

The Key to Managing Change.
May 1, 2001... ADC combines superior cable management, a broad product portfolio, and world-class customer service to help operators gracefully evolve their networks. No one can predict the future. The best an operator can hope for is to be...

POWER THE FUTURE WITH DC.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... As operators move from video-only to serving up data and telephony, they should consider DC powering for multiple services. Though DC power does pose some considerations in terms of cost, real estate, and training, there is one major benefit...

Savvy Decision-Making and Vision.
May 1, 2001... The migration from circuit-switched telephony to IP cable telephony is underway and driving the cable industry into a new era of technology advancements, bundled services and fresh new revenue streams. As voice service joins video and data,...