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Daily news and top headlines for broadband communications engineering and design professionals
Gateways - The Road to the All-IP Home
September 30, 2011 8:40 pm | by Paul Scarff, Senior Product Manager at Sigma Systems | CommentsService providers are moving toward the use of gateways, but the gateway model is still evolving, and there remain questions about the mix of features and functions gateways should have.
Mobile Backhaul - The Backhaul Heat is On
September 30, 2011 8:35 pm | by Andy Fuertes and Larry Swasey, Principals at Visant Strategies | CommentsCable operators, fiber providers and microwave radio vendors are benefiting from the continuing hard push by mobile wireless operators worldwide to build out both next-gen IP-based broadband and legacy networks.
In Perspective - “Qwikster”? Really?
September 30, 2011 8:30 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsThe Apple side of the universe is abuzz with the possibility that Comcast is getting close to streaming live TV to iPads.
Ciciora’s Corner - Patents in the News
September 30, 2011 8:20 pm | by Walt S. Ciciora, Expert on Cable and Consumer Electronics Issues | CommentsPatents have been in the news lately, big time. Google made its biggest acquisition to date in the purchase of Motorola Mobility. The trade press claims the motivation is Motorola’s 17,000 patents.
Open Mic - A New Content Delivery Paradigm
September 30, 2011 8:15 pm | by Conrad Clemson, CEO and Founder of BNI Video | CommentsThe business of distributing content on the Web is in transition. Standalone content distribution networks (CDNs) still predominate, but telecommunications service providers that traditionally relied upon CDNs have begun to enter this market themselves.
Engineering-Wise - Upping the Capacity Ante
September 30, 2011 8:10 pm | by Daniel Howard, Senior Vice President of Engineering and CTO of SCTE | CommentsThe need to manage and add capacity to cable networks is almost as old as the networks themselves. Whether it has been regular additions of downstream RF bandwidth, digital video compression, or increases in upstream capacity via higher-order QAM and S-CDMA.
Capital Currents - 21 x 9 Challenges
September 30, 2011 8:06 pm | by Jeffrey Krauss, President of Telecommunications and Technology Policy | CommentsDo you watch a lot of Blu-ray movies? Then maybe a 21 x 9 TV display is right for you. Why? Because one of the most common aspect ratios for theater display of movies is 2.39:1, which is close to 21 x 9.
Set-Top Boxes Reach for the Cloud
August 31, 2011 8:55 pm | by Mike Robuck, Senior Editor | CommentsSet-top boxes aren’t exactly bringing sexy back, but they are evolving into much more hip devices than the blue-collar editions that have squatted next to TVs for generations.
Canoe Preps For National Dynamic Ad Insertion In 2012
August 31, 2011 8:50 pm | by Mike Robuck, Senior Editor | CommentsEver since early last year, Canoe Ventures, which is backed by the six largest cable operators in the nation, has been laying the operational and technical foundation for dynamic ad insertion (DAI) on free VOD (FVOD).
Wireline Telephony isn’t Flat-Lining
August 31, 2011 8:45 pm | by Rick Bye, Senior Product Manager for Wireline Products at Silicon Laboratories | CommentsFixed-line (or landline) telephony services, including VoIP, are still important to consumers and represent a major source of revenue for service providers.
IP for video backhaul. No, really.
August 31, 2011 8:40 pm | by Richard Dellacanonica, President of Artel Video Systems | CommentsFor years, video service providers have had limited options for dealing with one of the more critical aspects of their video contribution workflows: how to set up reliable circuits for inter-city or remote-to-network connections.
Enhanced customer care tools: New self-care solutions
August 31, 2011 8:35 pm | by Chris Busch, CTO of Incognito Software | CommentsConsumers are adopting IP devices at a rapid clip and want connectivity for them. But what if something goes wrong with that connectivity?
In Perspective - Opportunity Mocks
August 31, 2011 8:30 pm | by Brian Santo, Editor-in-Chief | CommentsGoogle paid a pretty penny to secure Moto’s vast patent portfolio to protect its Android operating system...
Memory Lane - Parallel Lines
August 31, 2011 8:25 pm | by Stewart Schley Media & technology writer, Denver, Colo. | CommentsLooking back, it’s apparent that 2001 was the start of something big. Since then, the landline phone category has lost more than 17 percent of its subscriber base.
Open Mic - The Market Imperative to Cable IP Migration
August 31, 2011 8:20 pm | by Jeff Brooks Vice president of business development at Arris | CommentsThe question of how MSOs can best deploy Internet Protocol technology to remain competitive represents a formidable, strategic planning challenge.
