• Verizon’s video, Internet services expand in Mass.
By Traci Patterson
Residents of Millbury, Mass., will soon have access to Verizon’s FiOS TV service, thanks to a newly approved agreement authorizing the telco to offer its video service in the community.
The vote makes 79 the total number of Massachusetts communities where Verizon's FiOS TV is, or will soon be, available.
And consumers and businesses in Colrain, Plainfield and Worthington, Mass., now have access to Verizon’s high-speed Internet service . The service gives Internet users the ability to download at speeds of 768 Kbps.
• RCN going all digital next month Delaware County, Penn.
By Traci Patterson
RCN Corp. will begin switching its Delaware County, Penn., network to all-digital programming in October, giving subscribers better picture quality and more high-definition (HD) channels, and making the company’s network easier to maintain, RCN said.
"By going all-digital, RCN will be able to increase its HD channels to more than 75 channels at launch – with many more on the way,” said RCN CEO and President Peter Aquino. “This total currently exceeds what our cable competitors offer, making us leaders in delivering HD and customized cable packages in an all-digital world. Our Digital Freedom initiative frees up bandwidth so we can provide our Delaware County customers with an explosion of entertainment choices and have more expanded Basic Digital TV channels than ever before."
The conversion will enable RCN to deliver up to 10 standard-definition (SD) digital, or 3 HD, channels per analog channel. RCN is also increasing its video-on-demand (VOD) content, including hundreds of hours for free, as well as more subscription and pay VOD programming. The switch will begin in Delaware County and will continue over the next four to five months.
• Jiangsu Cable deploys BigBand’s BMR
By Mike Robuck
China’s Jiangsu Cable will use BigBand Network’s Broadband Multi-Service Router (BMR) to aid in the delivery of digital television services, including HD and interactive TV. BigBand’s BMR will be deployed in the provincial capital and nine cities in order to provide digital TV services to millions of customers.
“Jiangsu Cable has embarked on one of the most ambitious rollouts of digital television in the world, and we're delighted it has selected the BigBand BMR to manage and transport these services," said David Heard, BigBand's COO. "The BigBand BMR is a world-class product that has already been deployed by more than 50 customers across China.”
Jiangsu Cable, located on the east coast of China, has a long-term strategy of providing a suite of on-demand and interactive services, in SD and HD, to 15 million subscribers. Jiangsu Cable is consolidating its existing infrastructures into a single network in order to accelerate the pace of its digital migration. Currently, more than 250,000 Jiangsu Cable subscribers receive digital television services.
• Exfo appoints Cisco exec to board
By Traci Patterson
Exfo Electro-Optical Engineering has appointed Pierre-Paul Allard to its board of directors. He replaces Michael Unger, who passed away earlier this year.
Allard is currently area vice president of sales for Cisco Systems. He’s held several executive management positions during his 16-year career at Cisco, including vice president of worldwide enterprise marketing. Allard also served as president and CEO of Cisco Systems Canada. Prior to joining Cisco, Allard held various positions at IBM Canada.
Exfo is a provider of test and monitoring solutions for network service providers and equipment manufacturers in the global telecommunications industry.
More Broadband Direct:
• Digital transition could drive subs into arms of cable
• Verizon's FiOS video service lands in Puget Sound
• Cable dominates voice customer satisfaction study
• Adobe picks Harmonic's Rhozet for transcoding
• More news from IBC 2008
• SCTE Foundation awards grant to Comcast's Kring
• Broadband Briefs for 9/10/08