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Daily news and top headlines for broadband communications engineering and design professionals
Study: Dish, Bright House earn high marks for customer experience
March 22, 2013 12:24 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsBright House Networks and Dish Network held down the top spots among the 10 companies surveyed for customer experience in the TV sector by Temkin Research Group. On the other hand, Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications were the lowest-rated TV companies in the 2013 Temkin experience ratings.
More Bollywood for Cablevision subs
March 22, 2013 12:17 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsCablevision today announced the availability of its Optimum Premier South Asian package, which will give its subscribers access to more Bollywood movies as well as entertainment programming, sports events and news shows in Hindi. The new international tier features nine channels, including the newly added South Asian-language channels Life OK, Star India Plus and Star India Gold.
GCI begins whole-home services
March 21, 2013 1:04 pm | by Brian Santo | News | CommentsGCI has begun offering whole-home service, using DVRs from TiVo. The operator will provide its customers with the TiVo Premiere Q 4-tuner gateway DVR and TiVo Mini low-cost IP set-tops, with plans to offer the 6-tuner Pace XG1 gateway later this year.
Cox adds cloud-based storage for iPhone, Android devices
March 21, 2013 12:36 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsCox Communications has added in a free cloud-based storage element for iPhone and Android devices through its Cox Secure Online Backup. Cox Secure Online Backup is free to all of the cable operator’s data customers. The service lets subscribers store, share and backup files in a cloud.
FCC Commissioner McDowell resigns
March 21, 2013 12:32 pm | by Andrew Berg, Wireless Week | News | CommentsMcDowell was first appointed to a seat on the Commission by President George W. Bush. When he was reappointed to the Commission in 2009, Commissioner McDowell became the first Republican to be appointed to an independent agency by President Barack Obama.
Haigh steps over to Charter from Midcontinent
March 21, 2013 12:31 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsAfter more than 10 years at Midcontinent Communications, David Haigh will start his new job on Monday as Charter Communication’s regional vice president of inside plant. Haigh will be based in Madison, Wis. and will report to Sean Gallagher, vice president of corporate ISP.
Sigma Designs bows next-gen Z-Wave home control platform
March 21, 2013 12:19 pm | by Mike Robuck | Products | CommentsSystem-on-a-chip (SoC) vendor Sigma Designs introduced its next-generation product portfolio, which is based on the Z-Wave wireless protocol, that was designed to improve the performance of home control devices. Sigma’s Z-Wave Next Gen product portfolio was designed for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and service providers interested in developing home control products and services.
Samsung announces Smart TV upgrade kit
March 20, 2013 1:57 pm | by Brian Santo | Products | CommentsSamsung Electronics America has announced its first Evolution upgrade kit, and introduced several features for its smart TV line designed to enrich the TV-viewing experience, including a redesigned navigation interface and a new recommendation engine.
SeaChange reveals another Adrenalin customer
March 20, 2013 1:48 pm | by Brian Santo | News | CommentsCom Hem in Sweden will be using SeaChange’s Adrenalin back office system to support its forthcoming multiscreen service due for rollout later this year. Com Hem will use TiVo technology to deliver broadcast TV channels, VOD, catch-up TV and start-over for TiVo set-tops, LAN set-tops, smartphones and tablets.
Comcast to open doors on new customer support center in Pa.
March 20, 2013 12:30 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsComcast announced this morning that it will open a new, state-of-the art customer support center this summer in Susquehanna Township, Dauphin County, which is near Harrisburg Pa. Comcast will fill 425 new jobs at the facility, which brings its total number of employees across the state to 12,000.
Comcast strikes up free Wi-Fi at Citizens Bank Park
March 20, 2013 12:24 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsBaseball fans can tap into Comcast’s Wi-Fi access points for free during Phillies games at Citizens Bank Park. In its hometown of Philly, baseball fans at the games can access the hotspots with their wireless devices even if they’re not Comcast Xfinity Internet subscribers.
Comcast promotes Pluskota to regional VP
March 20, 2013 12:19 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsComcast Business Services has upped Michelle Pluskota to vice president of business services in its Heartland Region, which includes commercial customers in Michigan, Indiana, Arkansas and Kentucky. In her new job, Pluskota is responsible for building and executing the strategies for Business Services to continue growing small-to-medium business (SMB) and enterprise sales.
AT&T announces 30-, 40- and 50 GB shared data plans
March 19, 2013 2:48 pm | by Ben Munsen, Wireless Week | News | CommentsThe plans start at $300 per month—plus a $10-$30 per device fee, depending on the type of device—and go up to $500. In addition, AT&T will now offer new data-only plans for business customers bringing more than 25 devices into the fold.
Cisco unveils silicon transciever for 100 G
March 19, 2013 2:43 pm | by Brian Santo | Products | CommentsCisco’s 100 gigabit CMOS-based transceivers reduce space and power requirements, promising to make 100 Gbps backbones deployable. Cisco says that CPAK reduces space and power requirements by over 70 percent compared with CFP.
Intel offers reference for IPTV set-top
March 19, 2013 2:34 pm | by Brian Santo | News | CommentsIntel has a new reference design kit for set-top boxes and media servers based on its own Atom CE5300 processor, Futarque’s DVB-T2/T/C broadcast and media sharing stacks, Videon Central’s aVia media engine, and Hillcrest Labs’ Freespace Motion Engine software.
