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Daily news and top headlines for broadband communications engineering and design professionals
You too can play along!
March 7, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsHollywood Showdown, the Game Show Network (GSN) original game show that provides contestants with the chance to win big box office bucks, launches an interactive component beginning March 5, 2001. Developed by Mixed Signals, interactive Hollywood Showdown allows fans with WebTV Plus and Liberate-enabled set-top boxes to play along.
Verecomm releases TestExpert
March 7, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsTest automation and management solutions provider Verecomm is releasing its newest product, CableAVS for DOCSIS. CableAVS is a framework that allows developers of broadband communications products and services to automate and optimize verification of cable data products using third-party equipment. The ability to self-test and exercise DOCSIS product functionality within a development environme...
The bird gets a flock
March 7, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsIridium Satellite has inked deals with 13 service providers to offer worldwide distribution when the latest iteration of the commercial service launches next month. The non-exclusive agreements will enable the providers to sell Iridium services to industrial and government markets in remote areas where no other form of communication is available.
When the chips go down
March 6, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsFirst, the market goes soft. Next, your stock gets pounded down because the market's soft. Then, the lawsuits hit. That's what the Broadcom executive team woke up to this morning, after they updated their financial outlook for the first quarter of 2001. Blaming widespread economic slowness resulting in order delays, Broadcom President and CEO Henry Nicholas III announced that the company's firs...
Broadcom chip, Motorola modem pass EuroDOCSIS testing
March 6, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsOn the "good news" front, Broadcom announced that its silicon tuner chip has passed the EuroDOCSIS certification process, a significant milestone that will reduce the component count, cost, and reliability of the tuner function in cable modems. The Broadcom BCM3415 silicon tuner and BCM3350 single-chip cable modem passed EuroDOCSIS certification in a D-Link Corporation external cable modem.
ADC offers Web-based customer care system
March 6, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsADC yesterday debuted Singl.eView Web, a new application that creates the first fully integrated Internet-based convergent billing and customer management system that service providers can deploy in approximately 30 days. With its electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) and self-care capabilities, Singl.
SCTE helps cable MSOs find qualified personnel
March 6, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsTo help communications companies find qualified personnel, the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) is partnering with The Center for Military and Private Sector Initiatives to connect broadband companies with military-trained technicians. A non-profit corporation, The Center for Military and Private Sector Initiatives was established in 1995 to help military personnel find jobs...
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.
