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Daily news and top headlines for broadband communications engineering and design professionals
Cablevision promotes Pillai
March 18, 2013 12:40 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsCablevision has promoted cable industry engineer Pragash Pillai to senior vice president, network management and operations. Prior to his new title, Pillai was senior vice president, digital network technology at Cablevision. Three years ago, Pillai came to Cablevision from Bresnan Communications.
Few breakout tech hits at SXSW
March 15, 2013 2:40 pm | by The Associated Press | CommentsThe event, which helped launch Twitter and FourSquare, was quieter on the technology front this year. There weren't any hot apps that everybody immediately downloaded, but Google showed its Google glasses (it didn’t let anyone actually use them), and Foursquare displayed a number of data-tracking bracelets.
San Jose fires up free Wi-Fi network
March 15, 2013 2:23 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsThe city that considers itself the capital of Silicon Valley is offering free connectivity via a network built by SmartWAVE Technologies using 802.11n Wi-Fi products from Ruckus Wireless. San Jose also has one of the best acronyms ever for its metro area network exchange (see story).
Suddenlink ups Archer to VP of service delivery, CAO Group
March 15, 2013 8:44 am | by Mike Robuck | CommentsSuddenlink Communications has promoted Tim Archer to vice president of service delivery for the company’s commercial and advertising operations (CAO) organization, which is headquartered in Dallas. Prior to his promotion, Archer was senior director of operations for Suddenlink systems in Amarillo, Texas, Clovis, N.M., and some California systems.
Popcornflix available on Sony devices
March 14, 2013 1:50 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsSony Entertainment Network customers with Internet-connected Bravia TVs, Blu-ray players, and Blu-ray Home Theater devices can now access the Popcornflix for free. Popcornflix has been available to people who use Roku and Boxee set-tops.
Rogers’ security service rolls into Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe area
March 14, 2013 12:18 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsRogers Communications has expanded the availability of its Smart Home Monitoring service into Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe, which includes Hamilton, Oakville, Burlington, Niagara Falls, St. Catharines and other areas. Rogers was the first cable operator to launch a home automation and security platform in Canada in September of 2011.
Cablevision’s Maiella slides over to AMC Networks
March 14, 2013 12:13 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsStarting next month, Jim Maiella will make the move from Cablevision to sister entity AMC Networks. Maiella will be AMC’s senior vice president, corporate communications and will report to Ellen Kroner, executive vice president, communications and marketing.
Zenverge to bring MoCA on board
March 13, 2013 1:18 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsThe transcoding specialist, fresh off getting its chip adopted by Arris for a new gateway based on the Comcast RDK, is in the process of integrating Entropic’s MoCA circuitry into its products. Entropic is one of Zenverge's investors, along with Motorola and Verizon, among others.
ThinkAnalytics strengthens U.S. team with Pohl, Pingitore
March 13, 2013 12:23 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsMultiplatform video search and recommendation vendor ThinkAnalytics, which is headquartered in London, continued to broaden its reach into the Untied States with the hiring of cable veteran Michael Pohl as its strategic director for marketing and business development. Pohl was also named as a member of ThinkAnalytic’s board.
Wireless spectrum crunch? Not so fast
March 13, 2013 12:12 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsWhile devices such as iPhones and tablets have no doubt put a heavy burden on wireless networks the wireless spectrum seems to be holding up well, according to a report. Wi-Fi offload, which is a growing opportunity for cable operators, has helped ease the spectrum crunch.
Synacor forms joint venture in China
March 12, 2013 2:03 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsThe web-based portal specialist has formed a joint venture with Beijing-based Maxit Technology, as a means of expanding into China. It will be known as Synacor China Limited (and as Beijing Xing Mai Technology Limited in China). Synacor expects to invest about $2 million over two years.
Startup debuts radical new router
March 12, 2013 1:55 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsCompass-EOS, which counts Comcast and Cisco among its investors, has announced a new router based on a new, long-hoped for class of ICs that fully integrate electronic and photonic elements on the same die. The company said the system is now shipping, and noted that several of the new routers are already up and running at customer installations.
Cablevision, CableLabs team up on Wi-Fi app
March 12, 2013 12:24 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsCableLabs announced this morning that its Wi-Fi app, which it developed in conjunction with Cablevision and other member companies, has been licensed to mPortal in order to make the app more readily available to the cable industry. The CableLabs Wi-Fi app software includes Wi-Fi detection in order to help subscribers find the best Wi-Fi hotspot from their current locations.
Comcast co-hosts IETF meeting
March 12, 2013 12:14 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsFor the second straight year, Comcast is a co-sponsor of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) 86 meeting, which is taking place this week in Orlando, Fla. Comcast also announced that it had renewed its membership to the Internet Society as a platinum organization supporter for the sixth consecutive year.
Research: Fiber gap for businesses shrinks
March 12, 2013 12:07 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsAccording to a recent study, the “fiber gap” to businesses across the nation is steadily closing, but 64 percent of commercial buildings in the United States don’t have access to fiber-based network services. Vertical Systems Group’s latest report said that despite the current gap, business fiber availability has more than tripled since 2004 when the penetration rate was 11 percent.
