News
FREE Email Newsletter
Daily news and top headlines for broadband communications engineering and design professionals
WildBlue selects ViaSat to build satellite modems
March 6, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsKa-band satellite service provider WildBlue Communications Inc. has selected ViaSat Inc. to build the company's satellite modems. The initial portion of this contract is valued at approximately $16 million and covers development and production of satellite modems to support initial service launch. WildBlue plans to roll out two-way broadband services via satellite in early 2002.
Time Warner taps Portal Software for open access
March 6, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsTime Warner Cable has licensed Portal Software Inc.'s Infranet customer management and billing platform to support multiple ISP choice and usage- and value-based billing of its broadband cable services. With Portal's Infranet, Time Warner Cable can segment a single installation of Infranet into multiple "brands," each supporting its own subscriber management, pricing structure and business rule...
Tyco helping eliminate "spaghetti wires"
March 5, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsTyco Electronics is releasing a new line of cable management products, Amp Netconnect, to help cable installers and network administrators organize and maintain distribution cable and patch cords in rooms wired for telecommunications. According to Tyco, the new product line addresses the need for simple solutions for managing increasingly complex copper and fiber cabling systems.
WorldGate helping bridge the digital divide
March 5, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsWorldGate has formed a consortium of companies to help bridge the digital divide in the U.S. The companies are creating an educational technology program called WISH TV. WISH TV, an acronym for WorldGate Internet School to Home TV, gives fourth graders in Louisiana, Illinois and Ohio free Web access through cable TV for a year.
Tyco helping eliminate "spaghetti wires"(2)
March 5, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsTyco Electronics is releasing a new line of cable management products, Amp Netconnect, to help cable installers and network administrators organize and maintain distribution cable and patch cords in rooms wired for telecommunications. According to Tyco, the new product line addresses the need for simple solutions for managing increasingly complex copper and fiber cabling systems.
New play on old cliché(2)
March 4, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | Comments2NetFX and Avolo will be demonstrating their HDTV technology for the aviation industry at the upcoming National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show, April 21 - 26 in Las Vegas. 2NetFX develops media streaming technology and Avolo provides aviation parts and aerospace applications. With an eye on offering passengers more than coffee or tea, the two companies have developed high-definition tel...
CableLabs getting OCAP feedback
March 4, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsCableLabs is looking for feedback on its OpenCable Application Platform (OCAP), or middleware software, specification. More than 400 consumer electronics manufacturers receiving the draft OCAP specifications can participate in the development of these guidelines. According to CableLabs, it and several of its member cable operating companies worked with different software firms to produce the OC...
Sun shines on Canal+
March 4, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsSun Microsystems thinks the future is bright where iTV is concerned. The company is making a hefty investment in Canal+ Technologies to help speed up Java-based open standards for digital interactive television. "The idea behind this partnership is that we can get there faster if we work together," said Arthur Orduna, vice president of marketing for Canal+ U.
E-mail for novices
March 4, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsE-mail for couch potatoes (or pommes de terre). Quebec-based Videotron cable TV subs who use Scientific-Atlanta 's Explorer set-tops will be able to access their e-mail through their TV sets using an infrared keyboard. Videotron will deploy PowerTV 's SofaMAIL e-mail service to its 1.6 million subscribers.
New play on old cliché
March 4, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | Comments2NetFX and Avolo will be demonstrating their HDTV technology for the aviation industry at the upcoming National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show, April 21 - 26 in Las Vegas. 2NetFX develops media streaming technology and Avolo provides aviation parts and aerospace applications. With an eye on offering passengers more than coffee or tea, the two companies have developed high-definition tel...
Islanders get broadband network
March 4, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsBroadband data communications provider Teleste and RiverDelta have finished their joint project to create a multi-service digital broadband network for Isle of Wight Cable and Telephone. Teleste contributed its digital headend, fiber nodes and amplifiers and integrated it with RiverDelta's broadband service router.
Cable modems still dominating DSL
March 1, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsSubscribers love their cable modems, apparently better than DSL. Approximately 7.8 million households now subscribe to broadband Internet services in the U.S. and Canada and of this total, 5.5 million homes use cable modems, reports Kinetic Strategies. Only an estimated 2.3 million have chosen to use residential DSL.
Comcast invests in SeaChange
March 1, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsWith furthering entertainment in mind, Comcast has completed a $10 million investment in SeaChange. "Movies-on-demand is the initial strategic catalyst for both parties in this relationship. However, Comcast's commitment to SeaChange will be leveraged in research and development to provide returns with the SeaChange ITV System.
Cable ownership caps overturned
March 1, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsAT&Tand AOL Time Warner are enjoying a victory today. A U.S. appeals court has overturned federal limits on the number of subscribers that a cable company can serve, Reuters reports. The two companies, AT&T in particular, have long wanted the cable subscriber caps raised and have petitioned the FCC to review the numbers.
Terayon improves its BE 2000
February 28, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsIt sounds like a car, but it's not. Terayon 's second-generation version of the BE 2000 System is helping cable operators with their network security. The BE 2000 System is a CMTS (Cable Modem Termination System) which controls subscribers' cable modems with a high-performance IP switch/router. The technology has new features including one that prevents hackers from camouflaging themselves as a...
