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Daily news and top headlines for broadband communications engineering and design professionals
US Cable taps Terayon line; EarthLink debuts in Lincoln
March 17, 2002 7:00 pm | by Anne Kerven | CommentsUS Cable of Coastal-Texas will use Terayon Communication Systems Inc.'s BE 2000 cable modem termination system, and Terayon's TJ line of DOCSIS cable modems in all its networks, Terayon says. Deployments have already started to 18,000 US Cable subscribers in suburbs of Minneapolis, Minn. The Montvale, N.
Study: Paid Internet content to reach $5.8B in 2006
March 17, 2002 7:00 pm | by Jeff Baumgartner | CommentsThough not on par with cable revenues, content offered via the Internet apparently is starting to take on cable-like business models. Revenues from paid Internet content will grow to $5.8 billion by 2006, up from $1.4 billion in 2002, according to a new market forecast from Jupiter Media Metrix. Broken down, Jupiter forecasted that revenue from "general content" (audio/video entertainment, adul...
On2 calls on Justice Dept. to dissolve MPEG patent pool
March 17, 2002 7:00 pm | by Anne Kerven | CommentsMPEG technology competitor On2 Technologies sent an open letter to the U.S. Department of Justice last week, asking the agency to reconsider its 1997 decision to allow MPEG-related patent holders to pool their patents. On2, a developer of its own video compression technology, says the patent pool creates a monopoly and inhibits development in the market by creating an impression that it's creat...
New Focus to refocus; shuts China operations
March 14, 2002 7:00 pm | by Anne Kerven | CommentsNew Focus Inc. will dump its passive optical components line, and shut down its Shenzhen, China, manufacturing plant. The closure eliminates 350 jobs. The company also says it's talking to several parties about a sale or licensing of the technology related to the line. New Focus will take a $25 million to $40 million restructuring charge related to divesting itself of the line, likely in the fi...
Liberty closes Digital buy; invests $30 M in IDT
March 14, 2002 7:00 pm | by Anne Kerven | CommentsLiberty Media completed the short-form merger with Liberty Digital it announced in October, in a stock transaction that nets Liberty Media 100 percent of the digital company. Liberty also invested $30 million in IDT Corp. subsidiary IDT Telecom Inc., giving it a 4.76 percent equity stake in IDT Telecom.
Digital consumers on the rise
March 14, 2002 7:00 pm | by Anne Kerven | CommentsCopyright 2002 Toronto Star Newspapers, Ltd. The Hamilton Spectator…03/15/2002 From LexisNexis Last fall's launch of 50 new digital TV channels pushed the number of digital consumers up by 13 percent by the end of 2001, says a report released yesterday by Decima Publishing. "The percentage increase in subscribers between August/September and November/December 2001 was slightly higher than...
TiVo packages custom content for direct download
March 14, 2002 7:00 pm | by Anne Kerven | CommentsTiVo landed an interview with director Francis Ford Coppola that the company will include in its Hollywood Awards Showcase this weekend. The package will go to about 80 percent of TiVo's subscribers via a direct download to customers' boxes. The package also includes Academy Award content from the ABC TV network, including remarks from event host Whoopi Goldberg, producer Laura Ziskin and show ...
Will Vulcan buy Moxi?; Altrio/ARRIS ink $18.5 M pact
March 14, 2002 7:00 pm | by Anne Kerven | CommentsVulcan Ventures may be in talks to buy Moxi Digital Inc., a set-top box and middleware maker, for less than its previous value of $267 million, Reuters reports. An upcoming Business Week article says the company is facing cash problems and lost CEO and founder Steve Perlman last month, prompting the sale.
Net cable service to get a bit cheaper
March 14, 2002 7:00 pm | by Paul Davidson | CommentsCopyright 2002 Gannett Company, Inc. USA TODAY…03/15/2002 From LexisNexis Consumers can expect a cut of up to $3 in their monthly bills for cable high-speed Internet service under a federal ruling Thursday that frees the cable company service from heavy regulation. The Federal Communications Commission action also is likely to lead to a controversial but widely anticipated move to relieve...
Plaintree seeks UBS in all-stock deal
March 14, 2002 7:00 pm | by Tyler Hamilton | CommentsCopyright 2002 Toronto Star Newspapers, Ltd. Toronto Star…03/15/2002 From LexisNexis Wireless equipment maker Plaintree Systems Inc. wants to acquire Unique Broadband Systems Inc. in an all-stock deal that would combine two money-losing companies and their respective technologies. But the likelihood of an agreement depends on whether Plaintree can get its own nominees elected to Unique Br...
FCC: Cable modems an information service
March 13, 2002 7:00 pm | by Anne Kerven | CommentsThe cable industry claimed a victory today when the U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted 3-1 to classify cable modem service as an information service. The unregulated category means cablecos, as in the past, won't be compelled to open their lines to competitors unless specifically ordered to do so.
HBO exec joins cable center; TV Guide cuts deal in Korea
March 13, 2002 7:00 pm | by Anne Kerven | CommentsThe Cable Center appointed Leslie H. "Les" Read as Cable Center Ambassador, a newly created position. Read will communicate the center's mission and vision from all industry levels, the center says. Read most recently was VP at HBO, and retired in December. … TV Guide International Inc. and Broadband Solutions Inc.
Bell renews DSL contract with Alcatel
March 13, 2002 7:00 pm | by Bloomberg | CommentsCopyright 2002 Toronto Star Newspapers, Ltd. Toronto Star…03/14/2002 From LexisNexis Alcatel SA, the largest supplier of equipment that ensures fast Internet access, has won a $400 million contract to provide gear to Bell Canada's customers. Alcatel's agreement with Bell Canada will allow Canada's biggest phone company to offer digital subscriber line, or DSL, technology to 85 percent of ...
Comcast to sport HDTV in major markets this year
March 13, 2002 7:00 pm | by Anne Kerven | CommentsListen up, sports fans. Comcast Cable Communications will launch high-definition TV in the Washington, D.C., metro area and Virginia this summer, and will run its SportsNet coverage of pro sports events on the service starting in 2003. The company plans to offer HDTV in all of its major markets by the end of the year.
Council's cable competition plan goes bust
March 13, 2002 7:00 pm | by Sallie Hofmeister | CommentsCopyright 2002 / Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times…03/14/2002 From LexisNexis The prospects of ending long-standing cable television monopolies in Los Angeles dimmed Wednesday as City Council members vowed to revoke a franchise granted in July to Western Integrated Networks, one day after the company filed for bankruptcy protection.
