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Daily news and top headlines for broadband communications engineering and design professionals
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.
Broadpeak ups capacity of cache servers
March 19, 2013 2:20 pm | by Brian Santo | Products | CommentsThe company cranks up the streaming capacity of its BkS400 to a new maximum of 30 Gbps. The software upgrade to the company’s BkS400 video cache server and the attendant capacity expansion improves operators’ ability to deliver video content.
Liberty Media plunks down $2.62 billion for 27% stake in Charter
March 19, 2013 12:08 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsJohn Malone’s holding company, Liberty Media, has bought a 27.3 percent stake in Charter Communications for about $2.62 billion. The deal is slated to close in the first half or second quarter of this year. Liberty expects to fund the purchase with a combination of cash on hand and new loan arrangements.
S3 Group appoints O’Carroll to board
March 19, 2013 11:54 am | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsS3 Group announced that it has appointed former Rogers Communications executive Dermot O’Carroll to its board of directors. O’Carroll spent 17 years at Rogers Communications before retiring last year as senior vice president of network engineering and operations.
Disney, News Corp. finalizing plans for Hulu
March 18, 2013 2:14 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsAt issue is whether Hulu should completely dedicate itself to the free streaming of TV shows with ads, or whether its value lies in paid subscriptions for viewers. Disney is said to prefer the ad-supported model, while News Corp. prefers a paid service. The two might put the operation back up for sale.
