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Daily news and top headlines for broadband communications engineering and design professionals
QuickPlay joining white-label multiscreen market
March 8, 2013 1:37 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsQuickPlay Media is the latest company planning to offer multiscreen delivery as a cloud-based service. The company’s name for its cloud-based managed service solutions for the distribution of media to IP-connected devices is TVX. The service includes ingest, content management, play-out, and reporting.
Comcast ups Xfinity speeds in 3 more states
March 8, 2013 1:26 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsComcast continued its gradual rollout of internet speed upgrades, doubling the downstream speeds of two of the more popular tiers of Xfinity service in Arkansas, Indiana, and Michigan, at no cost. The speed upgrades initially apply to the Blast! and Extreme 50 plans.
Comcast subscribers tap into 80 million hours of TV VOD a month
March 8, 2013 12:41 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsTV shows rule the roost when it comes to the most-watched content on Comcast’s VOD platform. In a blog post, Comcast’s Matt Strauss, senior vice president of digital and emerging platforms, wrote that the company’s subscribers watched more than 80 million hours of TV on VOD per month.
TWC to pay $2.2 million to overcharged NY subs
March 8, 2013 12:36 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsNew York attorney general Eric Schneiderman announced yesterday that Time Warner Cable has agreed to refund some of its New York subscribers $2.2 million for allegedly overcharging them. The settlement requires Time Warner Cable to refund overcharges collected since March 2007.
Google sheds 1,200 jobs, but cuts miss Home unit
March 8, 2013 12:31 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsGoogle said today it was trimming 1,200 jobs, or 10 percent, from Motorola Mobility’s workforce, but the cuts didn’t impact the cable-based Motorola Home unit that Arris is buying. Google cut 4,000 jobs in August, which included employees from the Home and mobile divisions.
ActiveVideo hires Nemani away from Cisco
March 7, 2013 1:17 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsActiveVideo Networks has hired Murali Nemani as senior vice president and chief marketing officer. He joins ActiveVideo after five years with Cisco, where he directed the launch of the company’s Videoscape solutions for service providers, as well as the expansion of the company’s mobility portfolio for wireless and wireline operators.
TWCBC checks in with new HD service for hotels
March 7, 2013 12:36 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsTime Warner Cable Business Class is provisioning a new HD platform for hotels that was designed to mimic in-home HD services without the expense of on-site headend equipment and bulky set-top boxes. Time Warner Cable Business Class (TWCBC) is offering a new version of its HD Video for Hospitality service across the greater New York City area, New York State, New England and the Carolinas.
TWC scores $5 million through NY broadband grant program
March 7, 2013 12:30 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsTime Warner Cable has been awarded more than $5 million in state funding through Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Connect NY Broadband Grant Program. With the grant funds, Time Warner Cable will take part in the Statewide Broadband Expansion Project to deploy high-speed Internet service to more than 4,000 households in communities throughout New York.
Aurora closes $46 million deal with Harmonic
March 7, 2013 12:27 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsAurora Networks has closed its $46 million deal to buy Harmonic’s Cable Access unit that was first announced on Feb. 19. Aurora said the acquisition would increase its market share lead in the optical transport market by significantly increasing its installed base for next-generation service-providing products and create long-term strategic growth opportunities.
Ad platform startup gains $11M in vencap
March 6, 2013 3:08 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsInnovid, a startup that specializes in equipment used to create and distribute interactive advertising, has just nailed down another $11 million in venture funding. The company develops tools to create, deliver and measure video campaigns, in any format, on any screen, publisher or ad network. The suite of products includes the Innovid's own Ad Server.
In the Media: Verizon hiking DSL fees
March 6, 2013 3:01 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsVerizon will be upping the price of its basic tier of DSL service by $5 a month. The price hikes are not universal. The price has not changed in some cities where they company has franchise obligations to not increase its rates. The company says the new rate will remain in effect for one year.
Roku adds headphones to latest online video player
March 6, 2013 2:54 pm | by The Associated Press | CommentsThe Roku 3 box going on sale Wednesday also includes a more powerful search engine to find movies, TV shows and music more quickly and a new menu for perusing the more than 750 online services available through the device. The new model will be sold for $100, initially only at Roku's website and Amazon.com.
Schools shift from textbooks to tablets
March 6, 2013 2:46 pm | by The Associated Press | CommentsSchools are increasingly looking to the hand-held tablets as a way to sustain students' interest, reward their achievements and, in some cases, actually keep per-student costs down. News Corp. just introduced its $299 Amplify tablet designed for the education market; some 2,000 schools use Google's $199 Chromebooks.
FreedomPop giving away home broadband
March 6, 2013 2:21 pm | by Ben Munsen, Wireless Week | CommentsAfter announcing its plans to enter home broadband service back in December, MVNO FreedomPop has today made its Burst wireless router available to the public. The device retails for $89 and gives users access to FreedomPop’s freemium service on Clearwire’s WiMax network.
Time Warner Cable accelerates IntelligentHome rollouts
March 6, 2013 12:19 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsAhead of a nationwide rollout by year’s end, Time Warner Cable has launched its home automation service, which is called IntelligentHome, in all of its Carolinas markets as well as in Kansas City and Maine this week. Time Warner Cable finished up last year with IntelligentHome available in six of its markets.
