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Daily news and top headlines for broadband communications engineering and design professionals
IP VPN on the horizon
December 11, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsCable and Wireless and Nortel plan to unleash next-generation IP services in 80 countries over the next year. Nortel will supply Cable and Wireless with IP virtual private networks (VPN) management and infrastructure products, including personalized firewalls and customized extranets. Demand for IP VPN products and services will rise sharply, possibly as much as 606 percent, say research studie...
Zenith's new star
December 11, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsFor those who really want to sit on the couch to surf the 'Net, Zenith's new 27-inch TV with a built-in Internet dial-up connection is for you. For just 600 bucks, you can connect to the Web while not missing a frame of your favorite programs. Users will be able to take advantage of e-mail and online shopping too.
It'satrend…
December 11, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsStellar One has incorporated Tvia's CyberPro 5055 processor into the Stellar ConnectTV3000 broadband set-top box so users can see TV shows and Internet content displayed on their standard TV sets. ConnectTV is the link between the TV set and the network that delivers services like VOD, e-mail, video mail, i-gaming, PVR and karaoke.
It's a trend…
December 11, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsStellar One has incorporated Tvia's CyberPro 5055 processor into the Stellar ConnectTV3000 broadband set-top box so users can see TV shows and Internet content displayed on their standard TV sets. ConnectTV is the link between the TV set and the network that delivers services like VOD, e-mail, video mail, i-gaming, PVR and karaoke.
Microtune introduces a new breed of chip
December 10, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsMicrotune has high hopes for its new chip. Touting it as a new breed of upstream amplifier, the chip is designed to deliver high performance while using only a little power for broadband cable modems, cable telephony, set-top boxes and digital interactive applications. The MicroStreamer MT1530 is a single-chip component, and supports both DOCSIS and Euro-DOCSIS standards and features the first ...
PowerTV gets a boost
December 10, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsPowerTV is boosting its iTV software with a partnership with SoftConnex. PowerTV will integrate SoftConnex's USB host stack into its iTV operating system. It will be the first major set-top box operating system to include a full USB host stack. The company is planning for the future when MP3 players, printers, digital cameras and other home networked peripherals will be linked through the set-top.
TiVo users get HBO benefit
December 10, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsIpreview, you preview…if you have TiVo and get HBO, you can take advantage of a new service. Combination/HBO users will soon be able to use TiVo's Ipreview service to get customized access to HBO's Network Showcase programming, and record the programs directly from the promo previews. Subs click on the TiVo remote and the Ipreview service will record the HBO stuff they like.
Altrio moving forward
December 10, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsAltrio, the over builder that CED introduced in October, has filed its application to provide telecommunications services over an open-video system in Pasadena, Calif. Altrio plans to negotiate an agreement with the city to let it compete with Charter Communications for the 58,000 homes on the map. Altrio's goal is to eventually serve approximately 3 million subs in Southern California.
New turn-key cable TV modem testing
December 7, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsNational Technical Systems and Agilent have blended their technologies to provide third-party cable television modem pre-certification and other related testing services. The venture will enable NTS to add Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) pre-certification to its testing portfolio.
Comcast finishes Pennsylvania job
December 7, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsComcast said it has finished a 1,600-mile fiber-optic-cable upgrade in Delaware County, paving the way for 124,000 subscribers there to tap into more television channels and Comcast@Home high-speed Internet access. Comcast launched the upgrade effort in the county in January. The upgrade provides all Comcast customers in the area with at least seven additional channels at no added cost, and it ...
Politics makes unlikely bedfellows
December 7, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsDBS has found a new ally in its must-carry battle. C-SPAN, the government-affairs cable network, is urging a federal court to strike down a law taking effect in 2002 that requires direct-broadcast satellite operators to carry all local TV stations in markets where they carry any. In a court brief filed in Alexandria, Va.
New Cox job focussed on keeping customers
December 7, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsCox knows finding new customers is more expensive than keeping the ones you have. So the MSO has created a new post expressly for keeping its current customers. Warren Jones has taken the newly created position of director of customer retention and life cycle management. Jones will be closely involved with operations and field services, especially in the area of customer-service operations.
USA Networks sells assets
December 6, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsUSA Networks wants out of the TV station business. It has agreed to sell 13 of its full power stations to Spanish-language television network parent, Univision Communications. The deal also includes interest in four more stations. USA Networks CEO and cable industry personality Barry Diller said USA decided to sell after the company performed "a realistic assessment of our inability to either g...
Corning gives nod to fiber demand, expands
December 6, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsAcknowledging the high demand for fiber, Corning expects to boost its fiber manufacturing capacity by 25 percent through 2004, starting with expansion at its North Carolina production facilitiy. The Corning board of directors voted in favor of a plan to invest $450 million in the North Carolina plant.
Cox has found some Good Guys
December 6, 2000 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsGood guys in Las Vegas and Orange County, Calif. are helping Cox promote its Digital Cable starter kit. Good Guys is a San Francisco-based consumer electronics retailer. The kit will retail for $29.99 and includes digital cable installation, one month of digital basic service, three digital tiers, multiplex-premium channels, five pay-per-view movie coupons and an instructional video and handbook.
