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Daily news and top headlines for broadband communications engineering and design professionals
Consumers, the DVD and copy protection
January 31, 1997 7:00 pm | by Wendell Bailey | CommentsThe DVD can play (and in certain models, record) video on a disk that is the same size and appearance as a CD-ROM. This new device can hold a complete movie in digital form. It is expected that DVDs will be sold as stand-alone consumer devices, as well as ancillary computer devices to be used like CD-ROM players.
Implementing redundant fiber architectures
January 31, 1997 7:00 pm | by Dr. Eric Schweitzer, Product Manager, Harmonic Lightwaves | CommentsAs system operators offer advanced services such as video-on-demand, Internet access and telephony, the need for providing reliable, "interrupt-free" service escalates. The first step to ensuring that customers receive high-quality, reliable service is to implement redundant network architectures, where a backup system seamlessly fills in during times of primary system outage.
Clearing out the cobwebs in the attic
January 31, 1997 7:00 pm | by Roger Brown | CommentsWith the bloom off the residential telephony rose, cable engineers are back to pondering the merits of powered drops, power-passing taps and cable telephony systems. Not having to run power down the drop avoids a lot of headaches today, but where does that leave the industry in its quest to offer new services in the future? Should network planners do it anyway? Oddly, the tepid market for cable...
Cable moves ahead in high-speed data race
January 31, 1997 7:00 pm | by Fred Dawson | CommentsWhile debate over the technical viability and relative merits of cable modems and telco xDSL rages on, the real question regarding long-term strength of these competing technologies concerns their chances for becoming off-the-shelf components in the retail computer hardware market. The cable industry scored a major success in this direction in early December with preliminary agreement among par...
Grafting WDM onto existing cable systems
January 31, 1997 7:00 pm | by Venk Mutalik, Fiberoptics Engineer, Philips Broadband Networks Inc. | CommentsWith the advent of 1550 nm optically amplified systems, cable companies can now provide a point-to-point link between two headends, as well as provide multi-split options at the receiving headend, thereby reaching the subscriber node without any electrical conversion. This efficient method of information transfer is transparent to system upgrades and best preserves the system CNR.
LatestNewYear'sresolutionâ€â€readmore!
January 31, 1997 7:00 pm | by Walt Ciciora | CommentsSo am I going to suggest you start reading novels and "great literature?" No, not at all. I'm going to sneak up on that proposal and suggest instead that you read material that deals with the history of our industry and related industries and the biographies of some of its pioneers. CED told me I could write about anything I wished.
Back to the (converging?) future
December 31, 1996 7:00 pm | by Michael Lafferty | CommentsAs the new year gets underway, a fair number of the technology, new service and roll-out predictions of 1996 have fallen to the wayside. Whether it's financial woes, technical glitches or regulatory hassles, the converging telecommunications nirvana has not quite lived up to its hype...again. A good deal of the resulting frustration can probably be laid at the door of one T.
High-speed access tech may give telcos a hand
December 31, 1996 7:00 pm | by Fred Dawson | CommentsWill widespread availability of internet access over analog phone lines at twice today's speeds dent the market appeal of high-speed access over cable? It's a question that has been raised by some strategists in the broadband domain in the wake of news that manufacturers of analog modems and chipsets are bringing 56 kilobit-per-second units to market, starting as early as this month.
Who can see the emperor's new clothes?
December 31, 1996 7:00 pm | by Roger Brown | CommentsBy now, most people are aware of the blood-letting that took place last month: 2,600 workers — nearly seven percent of the company's workforce — were given pink slips as the company slashed its costs. The cuts hit the local systems hard, but the corporate headquarters wasn't spared, either.
Keeping Continental on the fast track
December 31, 1996 7:00 pm | by Roger Brown | CommentsIt's a dark and chilly morning outside, but Dave Fellows is already awake and out of bed, lacing up his running shoes, as he prepares to hit the streets of Beverly, Mass. It's been a long time since Fellows ran competitively, but taking on a sedentary lifestyle is unthinkable. For the quiet Fellows is driven to win, whether it's in sports or his professional life, and working out keeps him in g...
Candian cable ops band together
December 31, 1996 7:00 pm | by James Careless | CommentsDespite the absence of a cable modem standard, and the fact that many of their systems aren't two-way ready, Canada's major cable companies launched a nationally-branded Internet Service Provider (ISP) product called "WAVE" and announced it in November. In many ways, WAVE appears to be utterly groundbreaking.
Low-power TV and digital channels
December 31, 1996 7:00 pm | by Jeffrey Krauss, Digital Television Powerhouse and President of Telecommunications and Technology Policy | CommentsWith that controversy out of the way, we can move to the next one: Should low-power TV (LPTV) stations get digital channels? In my opinion, the only controversy is whether the answer is "no" or "of course not." But the LPTV broadcasters are mounting a lobbying campaign in Washington, trying to get a different answer out of the FCC.
Cities find 'The plan's the thing'
December 31, 1996 7:00 pm | by Tom Robinson | CommentsWhen you think about it, reflection, perspective and proper planning are key factors in many aspects of our lives. This is true in many facets of telecommunications, whether it's planning for product roll-outs, setting the framework for the introduction of new services, overhauling existing systems to enhance connectivity and implement new applications or, from a local government's perspective,...
Wrapping up management solutions with OSS
November 30, 1996 7:00 pm | by Michael Lafferty | CommentsAmidst all the hype and hoopla about new broadband services swirling around the industry these past few years, there's been a small, but vital, revolution taking place in the back rooms and back offices of the industry. It hasn't received as many headlines as cable modems, interactive TV or telephony.
Dead in Its Tracks?
November 30, 1996 7:00 pm | by Alan Stewart | CommentsOnce viewed as the telephone industry's secret weapon in its war with cable TV providers, asymmetrical digital subscriber line (ADSL) seems to have been sidelined by the baby Bells as they scramble to maintain their local loop monopoly. In a blow to U.S. ADSL vendors who saw their stock value tumble, Ameritech, BellSouth, Pacific Bell and SBC Communications retained France's Alcatel Telecom as ...
