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Daily news and top headlines for broadband communications engineering and design professionals
Sony's new tube top-heavy
January 4, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsSony is turning loose a new gadget in the consumer electronics market, a product that will catch the fancy of those who must have the latest and greatest. The respected electronics firm is expected to unveil at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas a 40-inch flat-glass tube television that will weigh in at more than 250 pounds.
Must-carry becoming dual-carriage?
January 4, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsThe Federal Communications Commission could vote on an issue next week that was supposedly up for debate in the distant future. The FCC may vote on an agenda item that would require cable operators to carry analog and digital TV signals simultaneously. The cable industry is criticizing such a requirement as a free ride for all commercial TV stations.
Virtual visiting brought to you by Inter-Con/PC
January 3, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsInter-Con/PC has taken those home video conferencing cameras off the PC and plopped them down on the set-top, bringing video conferencing into living rooms. The Totebook 6500 Video Conferencing Internet TV set-top box package combines a 56K modem, 6GB hard drive and 64 MB RAM with a camera. Users can talk, as well as see and transfer files to friends or coworkers on a real-time basis or send fu...
Interactive digital on the PC
January 3, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsWhile Inter-Con/PC is luring users to the couch, a new company is enticing subscribers back to their PCs, offering digital TV broadcasts on computers. Launched just after the new year, the Raleigh, N.C.-based company AccessDTV is hoping to entice PC users to tune, view, record and replay digital television broadcasts on their computers.
Mediacom tightening its clusters
January 3, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsFollowing a pattern that several other MSOs have this year, Mediacom has purchased systems totaling 14,000 subscribers from AT&T Broadband, better arranging its system clusters. The deal is valued at $34 million. Mediacom bought operations located in and around Fairhope, Ala., which are next to the company 's existing southern-region systems.
Words to be wary of: Trust me
January 2, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsHackers, thieves and people who cause electronic havoc just for the fun of it are everywhere on the Internet. So there is nothing wrong with added security. Thomson Multimedia has chosen Entrust 's embedded digital certificate technology for its cable modems. The digital certificates are embedded in the modems, authenticating the validity of cable modems before allowing them access to a cable o...
Motorola mastering set-tops
January 2, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsBranching out to all corners of the globe, Motorola 's advanced set-top box, the Streamaster 5000, is being deployed to subscribers in Canberra, Australia and for VibeVision customers on Canada's eastern seaboard by TransACT and Aliant Telecom, respectively. The Streamaster 5000 will deliver full-service broadband interactive television services through VDSL (very high digital subscriber lines).
Cablevision selling programming arm Rainbow Media
January 1, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsCablevision Systems has put its Rainbow Media programming arm up for sale, and several companies who are likely buyers are being courted for the cable network unit, the New York Times reported Tuesday. To be considered, USA Networks, Liberty Media, General Electric's NBC unit and Comcast have been told they must submit bids by Jan.
Happy New Year, your rates are going up
January 1, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsWhen the glow of the holidays wears off and the credit card statements begin showing up, another fiscal reality isn't exactly what consumers need. But beginning next month, AT&T subscribers will be slapped with cable TV rate increases ranging from almost 5 percent to 6.5 percent. AT&T says the cost of providing service, programming, technical upgrades and improving customer service has ...
Disney getting along
January 1, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsDisney is starting off the new year right, resolving several carriage issues it had with Comcast and Cable One cable companies. The disagreements were over costs associated with carrying Disney programming and retransmission consent. Dragging on the longest were the Comcast negotiations. For months, the third-largest cable company and Disney wrangled over which of Disney's cable networks Comcas...
New must-carry question plaguing FCC
January 1, 2001 7:00 pm | by Karen Kessler-Tanaka | CommentsThe FCC may soon decide if TV stations transmitting in digital-only format only are eligible for must-carry status. Currently, cable companies are required to retransmit broadcast stations with analog signals. The question of digital television signals being rebroadcast as analog came to light when a Florida station transmitting in digital requested that local cable operators carry its digital ...
Service Electric, WeiTel team on testing, power supply maintenance
January 1, 2001 7:15 am | by CED staff | CommentsService Electric Cablevision and WeiTel have partnered to complete annual FCC-mandated Proof of Performance Testing for Service Electric and perform on-going preventive maintenance on the operator’s power supplies throughout Pennsylvania.
Broadband Briefs for 12/07/07
January 1, 2001 7:00 am | by CED Staff | CommentsRCN lures NFL fans at Comcast's expense... Bright House adds telecom vet as VP of business solutions... Advisory firms back Arris' buy of C-Cor
LG Electronics' Q2 net profit plunges, sales fall
January 1, 2001 7:00 am | by Kelly Olsen, AP Business Writer | CommentsSales declined, and its mobile phone business remained in the red.
$1 billion contract takes the high (speed) road
December 31, 2000 7:00 pm | CommentsAerie Networks, Nortel sign contract for 20,000-mile national network for service providers. Aerie Networks will spend $1 billion with Nortel Networks over the next four years to optical networking gear in its 20,000-mile, high-capacity fiber-optic network in the U.S. Aerie, based in Denver, is linking 194 U.
