Business

Britt: McCain's bill should open a discussion

May 17, 2013 1:38 pm | by Brian Santo | News | Comments

Time Warner Cable chairman and CEO Glenn Britt threw his support behind updating the rules and regulations that govern communications services providers, and also reiterated guidance on some of the company’s business priorities for the next year and beyond.

Rogers Business Solutions extends network with Cologix

May 17, 2013 12:53 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments

Rogers Business Solutions completed a point-of-presence (PoP) deployment within Cologix's new data center in downtown Toronto. Through its PoP, Rogers Business Solutions can now offer connectivity services on its network to enterprises and carrier organizations globally.

Arris reorganizes following Moto purchase

May 16, 2013 2:30 pm | by Brian Santo | News | Comments

Arris announced a reorganization following its purchase of Motorola Home from Google. The company will establish two major divisions, a Network & Cloud unit and a CPE (customer premise equipment) unit. Arris execs asserted that even though Motorola Home has been struggling, it is set to bounce back.

Service provider segment powers Cisco's Q2

May 16, 2013 1:36 pm | by Brian Santo | News | Comments

Cisco reported that second quarter revenue in its Service Provider Video segment grew 30 percent year over year, in its Wireless segment by 27 percent, and in its Data Center segment 77 percent; the average for the company as a whole was 5 percent.

Cranky broadcasters could get their licenses yanked

May 15, 2013 2:08 pm | by Brian Santo | News | Comments

TV broadcasters who pull their signals off the air might risk forfeiting their spectrum licenses, Sen. Mark Warner this week warned. Fox CEO Chase Carey last month vowed to pull Fox off the air and distribute exclusively through pay TV services if Aereo were allowed to proceed with its current business model.

ABC app to require authentication

May 15, 2013 2:04 pm | by Brian Santo | News | Comments

In another small victory for MVPDs, ABC said it will make its content available through its newly renamed app only to authenticated pay TV customers, effective July 1. ABC said it has deals in place with Comcast, Cablevision, Cox, Charter, Midcontinent and AT&T.

Another Senator weighs in on cable prices

May 15, 2013 1:57 pm | by Brian Santo | News | Comments

Sen. Rockefeller has asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study the impact of TV station shared services agreements (SSAs) on consumers. The request is a response to complaints that local broadcasters collude in order to keep retrans fees artificially high.

Dish chair dares Softbank to raise bid for Sprint

May 10, 2013 1:20 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

The chairman of satellite broadcaster Dish Network Corp., which is trying to buy Sprint Nextel Corp., is daring Sprint's other suitor to raise its bid. Dish's Charlie Ergen told investors and reporters Thursday that based on the benefits Japan's Softbank says it would get from buying Sprint, it should be paying a higher price.

YouTube's new pay channels go from campy to kids

May 10, 2013 1:17 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

Although the world's largest video site has rented and sold movies and TV shows from major studios since late 2008, YouTube is introducing all-you-can-watch channels that require a monthly fee. The least expensive of the channels will cost 99 cents a month but the average price is around $2.99.

McCain bill takes aim at cable practices

May 10, 2013 1:02 pm | by Brian Santo | News | Comments

Senator John McCain has introduced a bill that aims to fix a grab-bag of problems in the TV industry. His bill proposes to bar programmers from offering channels only in bundles; it aims to make retransmission consent arguments easier to adjudicate; and restricts sports blackouts, among other measures.

Averna hooks up with Pace on DOCSIS certification

May 10, 2013 10:49 am | by Mike Robuck | Products | Comments

Montreal-based Averna has forged a design-validation partnership with Pace that it said would accelerate customer premise equipment certification (CPE) for cable operators. Using Averna’s DOCSIS Channel Emulator (DCE), the two companies will help service providers gain SCTE-40 certification on various CPE equipment for the cable and broadband industry.

Huawei founder: we won't spy

May 9, 2013 2:18 pm | by The Associated Press | Articles | Comments

During 26 years at the helm of Chinese tech giant Huawei, founder Ren Zhengfei has never once agreed to be interviewed by a journalist. Until now. Huawei is taking steps toward trying to dispel its image as a secretive and opaque company, and to reassure the world of its good intentions.

Dish's Q1 disappoints; lowest sub adds in years

May 9, 2013 2:11 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

Dish Network fell short of Wall Street expectations. Earnings were down 41 percent, and the company added only 36,000 TV subscribers in its first quarter, the fewest since 2009 when the recession and a dismal housing market hammered consumers.

Cablevision swings to loss; spending up on CPE

May 9, 2013 1:52 pm | by Brian Santo | News | Comments

Cablevision Systems swung to a first quarter loss, due in part to declining revenues in its cable TV unit. The company added a modest number of revenue generating units (RGUs), and increased average revenue per user (ARPU) by a little more than 1 percent, to $156.34.

The 2013 CTO Roundtable

May 8, 2013 1:35 am | by Brian Santo | Articles | Comments

Time Warner Cable’s Mike LaJoie, Cablevision’s Yvette Kanouff, Cox Communications’ Kevin Hart, and Buckeye Cablesystem’s Joe Jensen share their thoughts on some of the most prominent technological challenges they are dealing with today, and a few they might have to contend with tomorrow.