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Daily news and top headlines for broadband communications engineering and design professionals
Report: Broadband CPE enjoys stellar year in 2012
March 25, 2013 12:33 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsDriven by DOCSIS 3.0 and Wi-Fi, customer premise equipment (CPE) racked up its best year ever in 2012, according to a recent report by Infonetics Research. Based on strong EMTA shipments to North American cable operators, Arris remained the top dog in revenue in the DOCSIS 3.0 CPE segment, followed by Motorola, Cisco, Netgear and Ubee Interactive.
AT&T tunes in WatchESPN lineup
March 25, 2013 12:27 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsAT&T U-verse subscribers can now tune into ESPN’s WatchESPN web portal to view live sporting events on their smartphones and tablets via the WathcESPN app. AT&T customers who subscribe to ESPN’s linear networks can now stream live events and programming from ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPNU
FCC sets spectrum auction
March 22, 2013 1:27 pm | by Ben Munsen, Wireless Week | CommentsThe FCC plans to auction licenses in the 1695-1710 and 1755-1780 MHz bands as early as September 2014. The NTIA recently picked out the 1695-1710 MHz band of spectrum to be reallocated for non-federal use.
Charter refuses ads for TV antenna maker
March 22, 2013 1:22 pm | by The Associated Press | CommentsA TV antenna maker wanted to use the competition's own medium — cable TV — for its anti-cable message. Now, officials at Antennas Direct say Charter Communications' refusal to air the ads is evidence of the cable industry's growing concern over antennas.
Genachowski resigns as FCC chairman
March 22, 2013 1:17 pm | by The Associated Press | CommentsThe outgoing chairman’s tenure coincided with continued adoption of broadband and ever higher Internet connection speeds, especially on the wireless side. He approved Comcast's acquisition of NBC Universal, while blocking AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile.
Study: Dish, Bright House earn high marks for customer experience
March 22, 2013 12:24 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsBright House Networks and Dish Network held down the top spots among the 10 companies surveyed for customer experience in the TV sector by Temkin Research Group. On the other hand, Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications were the lowest-rated TV companies in the 2013 Temkin experience ratings.
More Bollywood for Cablevision subs
March 22, 2013 12:17 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsCablevision today announced the availability of its Optimum Premier South Asian package, which will give its subscribers access to more Bollywood movies as well as entertainment programming, sports events and news shows in Hindi. The new international tier features nine channels, including the newly added South Asian-language channels Life OK, Star India Plus and Star India Gold.
GCI begins whole-home services
March 21, 2013 1:04 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsGCI has begun offering whole-home service, using DVRs from TiVo. The operator will provide its customers with the TiVo Premiere Q 4-tuner gateway DVR and TiVo Mini low-cost IP set-tops, with plans to offer the 6-tuner Pace XG1 gateway later this year.
Cox adds cloud-based storage for iPhone, Android devices
March 21, 2013 12:36 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsCox Communications has added in a free cloud-based storage element for iPhone and Android devices through its Cox Secure Online Backup. Cox Secure Online Backup is free to all of the cable operator’s data customers. The service lets subscribers store, share and backup files in a cloud.
FCC Commissioner McDowell resigns
March 21, 2013 12:32 pm | by Andrew Berg, Wireless Week | CommentsMcDowell was first appointed to a seat on the Commission by President George W. Bush. When he was reappointed to the Commission in 2009, Commissioner McDowell became the first Republican to be appointed to an independent agency by President Barack Obama.
Haigh steps over to Charter from Midcontinent
March 21, 2013 12:31 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsAfter more than 10 years at Midcontinent Communications, David Haigh will start his new job on Monday as Charter Communication’s regional vice president of inside plant. Haigh will be based in Madison, Wis. and will report to Sean Gallagher, vice president of corporate ISP.
SeaChange reveals another Adrenalin customer
March 20, 2013 1:48 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsCom Hem in Sweden will be using SeaChange’s Adrenalin back office system to support its forthcoming multiscreen service due for rollout later this year. Com Hem will use TiVo technology to deliver broadcast TV channels, VOD, catch-up TV and start-over for TiVo set-tops, LAN set-tops, smartphones and tablets.
Comcast to open doors on new customer support center in Pa.
March 20, 2013 12:30 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsComcast announced this morning that it will open a new, state-of-the art customer support center this summer in Susquehanna Township, Dauphin County, which is near Harrisburg Pa. Comcast will fill 425 new jobs at the facility, which brings its total number of employees across the state to 12,000.
Comcast strikes up free Wi-Fi at Citizens Bank Park
March 20, 2013 12:24 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsBaseball fans can tap into Comcast’s Wi-Fi access points for free during Phillies games at Citizens Bank Park. In its hometown of Philly, baseball fans at the games can access the hotspots with their wireless devices even if they’re not Comcast Xfinity Internet subscribers.
Comcast promotes Pluskota to regional VP
March 20, 2013 12:19 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsComcast Business Services has upped Michelle Pluskota to vice president of business services in its Heartland Region, which includes commercial customers in Michigan, Indiana, Arkansas and Kentucky. In her new job, Pluskota is responsible for building and executing the strategies for Business Services to continue growing small-to-medium business (SMB) and enterprise sales.
