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Daily news and top headlines for broadband communications engineering and design professionals
New trend: Traffic control times two
October 31, 1996 7:00 pm | by Tom Robinson | CommentsYes, I am one of those folks who attempt to get work accomplished while inching down the highway, and yes, I do understand that this increases my chances of being involved in a fender- bender. But currently, at the 0 mph that I'm traveling, the chances of any vehicle-to-vehicle contact are remote. So first I'm wondering, is there anything that could help alleviate this situation and enable me t...
Evolution of the local phone market
October 31, 1996 7:00 pm | by Jeffrey Krauss, Waiting for Local Phone Competition and President of Telecommunications and Technology Policy | CommentsToday, there are many potential competitors on the horizon, each associated with a particular technology — cellular, PCS, LMDS, DEMS, 38 GHz, optical fiber, and of course, cable TV. But I believe that in the long run, there will be consolidation, and there will be a small number of competitors, each utilizing a mix of technologies.
Local telcos, cable companies partner for profit
October 31, 1996 7:00 pm | by Ken Pyle, Product Manager, E/O Networks | CommentsThe paradigm for manufacturing companies has shifted from the vertically integrated manufacturer of the postwar era to one working in concert with partner companies to create end-products. Companies may be partners at one level, such as manufacturing, while they compete at another level, such as marketing the product to the consumer.
Digital video and transport connectivity options
October 31, 1996 7:00 pm | by Jay Shuler, Senior Manager of Broadband Applications, Nortel (Northern Telecom), Atlanta | CommentsMany cable providers understand the compelling need to migrate to an all-digital network, for reasons including pristine signal quality over any distance, rock-solid reliability (bit error rates of up to 1 error in 1,000,000,000,000,000), compatibility with existing long-haul telecom networks and flexibility to accommodate every conceivable type of service.
Telco video plans becoming clearer all the time
October 31, 1996 7:00 pm | by Roger Brown, Michael Lafferty and Dana Cervenka | CommentsWhat a difference two years can make. Back in 1994, the buzz around the telecom industry was how every major telephone company was going to aggressively upgrade its network with fiber optics and would be offering a suite of broadband services (e.g., cable TV, interactive entertainment and information, home shopping) to American consumers — all within a tight timespan.
Software has to be useful, not perfect
September 30, 1996 8:00 pm | by Wendell Bailey | CommentsI don't believe it is necessarily the fault of the computer or software industry. I don't, for instance, believe that companies create bugs on purpose, or that they do a bad job of building hardware and developing software. What I put all of the vagaries down to is the conditions under which these enterprises are conducted; specifically, the rush to market that characterizes the efforts of thes...
Digital TV equals big electric bills
September 30, 1996 8:00 pm | by Jeffrey Krauss, Electric Bill Payer and President of Telecommunications and Technology Policy | CommentsIt shows that some broadcasters will be hit with big electric bills, because they have to use UHF channels for DTV, rather than their current VHF channels. In addition, I've noted some new interference problems that could arise, one of which could affect cable TV. The new assignment table The FCC plans to give each existing TV broadcaster a second TV channel to use for DTV.
Does broadband data need eye candy?
September 30, 1996 8:00 pm | by Fred Dawson | CommentsThe growing presence of small, but consumer-pleasing video windows on Web sites has raised the bar for the technical parameters in near-term broadband data service rollouts, adding new issues to operators' technical choices. While some experts argue that the key to success with consumers in the early going with broadband data services is provision of fast access to conventional sites, in combi...
Investing in super headends
September 30, 1996 8:00 pm | by Lynn Newsom, Vice President, Network Services, MediaOne; and Tore Nelson, Director of Headend Marketing, Scientific-Atlanta | CommentsMediaOne, a US West company and main provider of cable television entertainment services throughout metropolitan Atlanta, has embarked on a $350 million rebuild/upgrade of its Atlanta network, most of which was originally built during the late 1970s. With the goal of creating a state-of-the-art 750 MHz hybrid fiber/coax system to provide entertainment, data, video and telephony services, MediaO...
Looking through your customers' walls
September 30, 1996 8:00 pm | by Roger Brown | CommentsBoth, of course, offer data transfer and Internet access at speeds hundreds of times faster than the telcos can with conventional POTS modems. And both are providing continuous connections for a monthly flat fee. With the launch of their own high-speed data services, the nation's largest cable system operators are plunging headlong into uncharted waters as they search for new revenue opportunit...
Boston College soars with high-speed modems
September 30, 1996 8:00 pm | by Roger Brown | CommentsRemember when going to college and living in a dormitory meant long hours of study, bad food, a single telephone down the hall and an old TV that pulled in maybe five or six snow-filled channels? My, how times have changed. Sure, the studying is still necessary, and the food is probably just as bad, but today's students are becoming active participants in the Information Age-and they're bringin...
Preventing ingress in the return path
September 30, 1996 8:00 pm | by Kevin J. Oliver, Product Marketing Manager, CATV Division, Wavetek Corp | CommentsWith new opportunities for revenue available and competitive threats building, the focus of the cable industry is on making cable networks quality, interactive, two-way communications pipelines. As such services as high-speed data, interactive TV applications, telephony, and even Internet TV are being considered or activated, one of the big questions being asked is how do I handle ingress encou...
From 1550 to WDM, choices abound
August 31, 1996 8:00 pm | by Roger Brown | CommentsAny video network designer who thought his life became infinitely more complicated a few years ago when fiber optics came on the scene will be astounded by the sheer number of options that are coming on-line today. No longer is it just a debate over 1310 nm vs. 1550 nm, or hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) as opposed to switched digital video: It's that plus a few others.
New needs create a new demand
August 31, 1996 8:00 pm | by Roger Brown | CommentsYou don't have to go too far back in the history books to find a time when, if you announced to the world that you planned to deploy 1550 nm fiber optic technology, you were considered odd, or unique. After all, 1550 was itself an oddity-a distraction to those who were lobbying cable operators to deploy fiber as fast as possible, but preferred that they use 1310 nm gear.
Taking the PC out of the data comm loop
July 31, 1996 8:00 pm | by Michael Lafferty | CommentsRemember that classic scene in Moonstruck where Cher gives Nicholas Cage a swift high-five upside the face and yells, "Snap out of it!"? Consider yourself slapped and duly instructed. For the past year or so, as many in the industry have paced the floor, wrung their hands and consumed mountains of Zantec to calm roiling stomachs churning with cable modem distress, it seems everyone's attention ...
