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Daily news and top headlines for broadband communications engineering and design professionals
Cable Show: Tech forums get smart about devices, consumers, Wi-FI
June 12, 2013 9:17 am | by Craig Kuhl | News | CommentsMore devices, more choices and more broadband translate to more intelligence in our home networks, and intelligent gateways will lead the way. That was the key takeaway from the first of Tuesday’s Spring Technical Forums: “Human Touch: The Intersection of Intelligent Devices and Intelligent Consumers.”
Cable Show: Gigabit DOCSIS? Yeah, we can do that
June 11, 2013 5:18 pm | by Brian Santo | News | CommentsIn a 3.0 demo, CableLabs was bonding 128 channels to crank out in excess of 4 Gbps in a total of 768 MHz. In the 3.1 demo, which included OFDM modulation and LDPC error correction, CableLabs was pushing data at a clip in excess of 6 Gbps, but in only 650 MHz, the better to show the spectral efficiency inherent in the move to OFDM.
Cable Show: Mediacom bows home automation service
June 11, 2013 9:41 am | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsMediacom Communications has joined the ranks of cable operators that are offering a home automation service to their subscribers. Mediacom, the eighth-largest cable operator in the nation, has joined Comporium Communications’ security, monitoring and automation (SMA) dealer program to deliver the home automation service across its footprint.
A win/win for Arris with Comcast
June 11, 2013 9:36 am | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsArris nabbed two customer wins with Comcast for its XGI gateway and the vendor’s E6000 Converged Edge Router (CER). The XGI was based on the Comcast Reference Design Kit (RDK), which Comcast developed to speed up the rate of innovation on set-top boxes and gateways.
From the Cable Show: TV Everywhere not a product but a process
June 10, 2013 6:34 pm | by Craig Kuhl, Contributing Editor | News | CommentsBuilding a viable business model for TV Everywhere is a tedious and complicated process, with authentication and measurement issues the leading prerequisites for achieving the ultimate goal of content ubiquity. That was the conventional wisdom shared by panelists during Monday’s Authenticate Me, Baby: Consumer Behavior in the TV Everywhere Era session.
From the Cable Show: "Disruptors" not so disruptive
June 10, 2013 6:25 pm | by Brian Santo | News | CommentsExecutives from Vox Media, Jawbone, Twitter, and Roku were all quite enthusiastic about being complements to the cable industry, but they all wished that cable would innovate a little faster. Tom Rutledge meanwhile essentially admonished programmers to give it up already.
Comcast to turn up millions of Wi-Fi hotspots in neighborhoods
June 10, 2013 11:08 am | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsUsing subscribers’ home gateways, Comcast plans on booting up millions of Wi-Fi access points for its customers through its neighborhood hotspot initiative. After trials last year in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Northern Virginia and the Washington, D.C. metro area, there are currently more than 100,000 hotspots enabled in customers’ neighborhoods.
Cable Show: Cox, Cisco team up on two CCAP trials
June 10, 2013 11:01 am | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsCox Communications and Cisco have taken the cable industry’s converged cable access platform (CCAP) for a test-drive in two trials. In addition to Cox, Comcast and Time Warner Cable have also kicked the tires on CCAP, which will eventually combine edge QAMs and cable modem termination systems into one ultra-dense platform.
Cable Show: Comcast launches Xfinity Home Control
June 10, 2013 10:33 am | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsComcast announced today that it has launched Xfinity Home Control, which allows subscribers to remotely adjust thermostats or lighting without the professional security monitoring that is offered with other Xfinity Home services, which are now called Xfinity Home Secure. Among other features, Xfinity Home Control provides customers with the ability to get real-time text and email alerts when doors and windows open or close.
Obama pushes plan for fast Internet in U.S. schools
June 7, 2013 1:44 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsThe President is advocating for an initiative that calls on the FCC to use an existing program that funds Internet access in schools and libraries through a surcharge on telephone bills to meet the goal. He also directed the government to do a better job of using existing funds to get Internet connections and educational technology into classrooms, and into the hands of teachers who know how to use it.
Applied Broadband sells IPDR analysis tool
June 7, 2013 1:25 pm | by Brian Santo | News | CommentsGuavus has purchased Applied Broadband’s Pipeline product. Pipeline is used for collecting, analyzing and mediating IPDR (Internet Protocol Detailed Records) data, drawn from cable modem termination systems (CMTSs) to understand bandwidth consumption and network activity.
Liberty Global wraps up deal to buy Virgin Media
June 7, 2013 12:31 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsJohn Malone’s Liberty Global announced this morning that it had completed its $24 billion deal to buy Virgin Media. Denver-based Liberty Global first announced it was buying Virgin Media in a stock and cash deal back in February. Since then Liberty Global has ran the gauntlet of gaining regulatory and stockholder approvals, as well as wrapping up the closing conditions that were associated with the deal.
Entropic buys mixed signal specialist
June 6, 2013 1:50 pm | by Brian Santo | News | CommentsEntropic has acquired Mobius Semiconductor, which specializes in low power, high performance analog mixed-signal circuitry. Entropic said it will spend approximately $13 million in cash plus employee equity-based incentives to buy Mobius. Separately, Access Co. said it is integrating its DLNA and HTML5 technologies with the latest set-top box chipset solution from Entropic.
Xfinity Home to add remote control light bulbs
June 6, 2013 1:37 pm | by Brian Santo | News | CommentsComcast Xfinity Home subscribers will soon be able to install light bulbs from Sylvania that can be controlled via remote. The Sylvania Ultra iQ LED BR30 flood light bulb has integrated dimming controls that use the Zigbee Home Automation standard to create a system that can be controlled wirelessly for quick and easy adjustments using a smartphone or the Xfinity Home app.
ADB offers major revision of Commercial Video Solution
June 6, 2013 1:34 pm | by Brian Santo | Product Releases | CommentsADB announced several new products, leading with its first major revision of its Commercial Video Solution, the company’s system for supplying video to hotels, universities, hospitals, and other commercial businesses. The company’s other introductions include set-top boxes and a gateway.
