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Daily news and top headlines for broadband communications engineering and design professionals
DVRs now playing near you
November 15, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsWhat you want to watch, when you want it. ReplayTV and AT&T Broadband are offering DVRs (digital video recorders, also known as PDRs, personal digital recorders) to trial groups of subs in Denver and Boston later this month. As spokespersons were unavailable for comment, CED is not sure who gets to try out the new DVRs.
The Doctor back to practicing on his own
November 15, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsAT&T confirmed rumors that it will spin off Liberty Media Group as a separate company by 2Q 2001. AT&T acquired Liberty when it purchased TCI from then chairman and CEO, John Malone, aka "The Doctor." Malone has since sat at the head of Liberty, its tracking stock struggling under the downward tug of AT&T.
Music meld
November 15, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsEntertainment meld. That's the goal of a new alliance between Excite@Home and MTVi, the dot com arm of MTV. The two companies plan to blend entertainment content and high-speed Web use access in a new site offering music video clips, news and downloads. The music-oriented content is tailored for those with broadband connections, but the less fortunate users of dial-up can still access the fun s...
Liberate and nCUBE combine products
November 14, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsNew iTV technologies top the list of to dos for Liberate and nCUBE. The two companies have hooked up to integrate nCUBE's VOD technology with the Liberate TV Platform software for lower-powered digital set-top boxes. The collaboration aims to help network operators increase their speed-to-market time of iTV services.
Lucent offers VitalAccess
November 14, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsLucent 's new product, VitalAccess, is many things to many providers. VitalAccess is a multi-vendor software product broadband service providers can utilize to deliver Internet access, multimedia and VOIP to their customers. VitalAccess is a subscriber activation and management system that helps cable and broadband wireless operators, and DSL and fiber-to-the-home providers cut provisioning cos...
BroadJump bridging the gap
November 14, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsHeeding the broadband services demand, BroadJump has introduced a solution that bridges the gap between broadband service providers' networks and subscriber homes. Banking on analyst forecasts that 16.5 million U.S. households will have broadband access by the end of 2004, BroadJump created the Service Fulfillment solution.
Corning and Cisco create alliance
November 13, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsCorning and Cisco have joined forces to deliver IP optical solutions to their service provider customers. In this non-exclusive alliance, the two companies will form teams to develop pre-engineered optical solutions consistent with customer requirements. A little like optical fast food. Products included are Cisco's core products, Corning's optical fiber products, including LEAF and MetroCor, a...
More on Motorola
November 13, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | Comments(I should just rename this e-newsletter the OpenTV/Motorola Daily.) Motorola has also inked a deal with Wind River. The company will be a value-added reseller, integrating its MCT5100 M-DTV module with Wind River's VxWorks real-time operating system. The technology lets OEMs develop digital TV and set-top box products with improved time-to- market.
PhatPipe and BreezeCOM fatten up
November 13, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsPhatPipe, a broadband tech company focusing on industrial real estate customers, has deep pockets. The company has promised BreezeCOM it will buy $5 million in BreezeCOM wireless infrastructure equipment, products and services. The two companies will focus on tailoring tech solutions that were previously too pricey or unavailable for PhatPipe's industrial tenants.
OpenTV (busy, busy) and Motorola expand their relationship
November 13, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsOpenTV and Motorola are taking their steady relationship to a more serious level. The two companies have agreed to a multiple-year, strategic relationship to focus on accelerating iTV deployments worldwide. The new joint venture's services will include cable and satellite integration, testing and development.
OpenTV is having a good year
November 13, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsThe market has welcomed OpenTV with open arms. The interactive television software company said its iTV middleware is now deployed in more than 11 million set-tops worldwide, with 1.7 million of those added in 3Q 2000. A large portion of those boxes were deployed through EchoStar. Cable operators have deployed more than 700,000 OpenTV enabled set-tops.
HSA and ISP Channel find a way to get along
November 13, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsIt's always nice to see a "customers first" philosophy. Competitors High Speed Access and ISP Channel have reached a deal to transition some of ISP's customers to HSA. ISP Channel, owned by SoftNet, is restructuring many of its existing broadband service contracts and ceasing operations with some MSOs, after deciding to concentrate its resources on Aerzone and Intellicom, SoftNet's broadband wi...
ZyXEL tunes in MicroTuner
November 12, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsZyXEL, a supplier of Internet, Intranet and Extranet access solutions, has picked the MicroTuner MT2030 single-chip tuner for ZyXEL's new cable modems. The Prestige 941 Plus modems are two-way DOCSIS-based cable modem bridge/routers. The modems are aimed at SOHOs, telecommuters and home users. Because of the "always on" feature, customers can access the Internet instantly, eliminating the need ...
Cisco modem making room for the future
November 12, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsCisco has released the uRB10012, the latest in its line of Universal Broadband Router cable modem termination systems. The uBR100012 increases intelligence at the edge of the network, enabling more new services over the network. It is currently the only platform providing unlimited scalability. "The uBR100012 is good for the customer - Cisco is providing even more headroom for them, product man...
Com21's neighborhood
November 12, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsCom21 has launched its "My Neighborhood Broadband," an Internet-based e-commerce tool. Partnering with CableLabs as a Go2Broadband affiliate, Com21's Internet site will assist potential subscribers in determining whether cable modem service is available in their areas. Customers visiting the My Neighborhood Broadband site will be able to check on the availability of service in any U.
