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Daily news and top headlines for broadband communications engineering and design professionals
Comcast expands access to Internet Essentials
March 5, 2013 2:10 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsComcast said it has connected more than 150,000 families thus far through its program to provide Internet access to low-income students and their families. Eligibility criteria for the program will soon be expanded to include parochial, private and homeschool students, bringing the estimated total number of eligible families to nearly 2.6 million.
Study: Core router market continues slide in 4Q
March 5, 2013 12:13 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsFor the sixth straight quarter, the service provider core router market continued its decline in the fourth quarter of last year as market revenue fell to its lowest level since the third quarter of 2009. Dell’Oro Group’s latest research said market revenue core routers dropped because network operators cut back investments on their backbone networks.
The Weather Channel picks Elemental Technologies for TVE
March 5, 2013 12:10 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsThe Weather Channel is powering its cross-platform video services with Elemental Technologies’ multi-screen platform. The Weather Channel is using Elemental video processing systems to support live programming and simulcasts to more than 100 million U.S. households and to stream live content to the company’s YouTube channel.
Leavitt joins Comcast as SVP of global benefits
March 5, 2013 11:56 am | by Mike Robuck | CommentsComcast announced today that Shawn Leavitt has joined the company as senior vice president of global benefits for Comcast and NBCUniversal. In this newly created role, Leavitt will develop a strategic plan for the research, design and development of Comcast and NBCUniversal’s benefits, including retirement, health and welfare, and health services.
In the media: Comcast plans free VOD promo
March 4, 2013 1:55 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsComcast is looking to promote increased use of its VOD service later this month with a week’s worth of free VOD access. The MSO hopes to draw consumer attention to its broad VOD catalog late this month by offering shows from its broadcast, cable, and premium cable networks for free for a week.
Omnitel extends fiber to the home
March 4, 2013 1:52 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsUsing Broadband Stimulus financing, OmniTel Communications has deployed Adtran’s Total Access broadband platform in parts of Iowa. Omnitel is a RUS grant winner; its network expansion is in accordance with efforts by the Iowa Broadband Deployment Governance board to make high-speed broadband service more widely available in rural areas of the state.
SCTE issues call for abstracts for Expo
March 4, 2013 12:08 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsThe Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) today announced that it is seeking proposals for papers and presentations for the technical sessions at SCTE Cable-Tec Expo 2013. The SCTE Cable-Tec Expo 2013 Program Committee is looking for abstracts that address the evolution of cable networks, services and business processes for the Monday through Thursday, Oct. 21-24 event in Atlanta.
Time Warner Cable scores marketing deal with University of Kentucky
March 4, 2013 12:03 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsTime Warner Cable has struck a multi-year sponsorship deal with the University of Kentucky’s athletic program centered around the men’s basketball and football teams. With the agreement, Time Warner Cable serves as the official sponsor of University of Kentucky athletics across its core video, high speed data, Wi-Fi and home phone products and services.
Former Knology execs Holt, Ard join Synapse
March 4, 2013 11:56 am | by Mike Robuck | CommentsFormer Knology president Todd Holt has signed on as president of Synapse Wireless while Royce Ard, who worked with Holt at Knology, was hired as vice president of marketing. In his new job, Holt is responsible for directing the custom product offerings and horizontal market businesses in Synapse's core market of cloud-enabled, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication solutions
Videotron's streaming service challenged
March 1, 2013 1:50 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsCanadian Broadcaster Astral Media is attempting to force Videotron to drop or severely modify a streaming video service the latter recently announced. Astral filed a complaint with Canadian regulatory agencies claiming Videotron’s new illico Club Unlimited service violates a number of statutes. Videotron considers the complaint to be without legal merit.
Companies struggle to popularize mobile money
March 1, 2013 1:03 pm | by The Associated Press | CommentsEven people who work in the mobile phone industry passed up the opportunity to use their phones to get into the Mobile World Congress using their smartphones because it was just too much of a hassle to set up the capability. It's a poor omen for an industry that's eager to have the cellphone replace both tickets and credit cards.
Comcast connects city of West Haven
March 1, 2013 12:02 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsComcast has connected city hall, schools and libraries throughout the city of West Haven, Conn. with its Ethernet and trunking services. Comcast is providing West Haven with high-speed Internet access and voice services that connect city hall to 17 municipal locations, including West Haven's three libraries, six firehouses, the high school, beach patrol offices and the police department.
Study: GPON, VDSL bright spots in broadband gear market
March 1, 2013 11:55 am | by Mike Robuck | CommentsWorldwide spending on broadband aggregation equipment was down last year, but GPON and VDSL bucked the overall trend. For the full year, worldwide spending on broadband aggregation equipment was down 10 percent to $6.65 billion, with DSL equipment plunging 26 percent.
Mediacom stays the course in Q4
February 28, 2013 1:03 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsMediacom Communications reported revenues were up in its fourth quarter. In keeping with cable industry trends, the company lost basic video subscribers while gaining broadband connections. Combining the numbers for the two units, Mediacom now has a total of almost exactly 1 million video subscribers.
Smart watches gain interest and popularity
February 28, 2013 12:40 pm | by The Associated Press | CommentsMiniaturized computers, worn on the wrist, link to the wearer’s iPhone or Android handset, and can display not only the time, but also e-mail messages. The Pebble smart watch is $150, and can also display texts, provide caller ID, and scan Twitter or Facebook feeds.
