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Daily news and top headlines for broadband communications engineering and design professionals
Verizon to test Ericsson’s TV over LTE
February 26, 2013 3:40 pm | by Brian Santo | News | CommentsWhat Ericsson is calling an end-to-end LTE broadcast solution is based on the eMBMS standard covering broadcast video over LTE. It represents one of the first proposed uses of both HEVC and MPEG DASH. Telstra in Australia and Verizon Wireless will be among the first to trial the system.
Comcast Business, Baltimore Tech Park partner
February 26, 2013 3:34 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsBaltimore Technology Park has partnered with Comcast to connect its colocation data center to Comcast’s private, optical network and fiber footprint. In addition to connecting to Comcast’s network, Baltimore Technology Park can also offer its customers Comcast Business’ Ethernet services.
Cablevision files antitrust suit against Viacom
February 26, 2013 3:14 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsCablevision's antitrust lawsuit against Viacom in a federal Manhattan court alleges Viacom illegally forced it to carry unwanted networks. The MSO says it was forced to carry and pay for lesser-watched ancillary networks, such as Palladia, MTV Hits and VH1 Classic, in order to be allowed to carry popular networks such as MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.
Nielsen preparing to tally broadband TV viewing
February 25, 2013 3:06 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsStarting in September, Nielsen will begin measuring viewership through broadband devices like game consoles for the first time. With DVRs, video on demand, game consoles and streaming services, tablets and smartphones, the way people watch TV is changing and the industry is struggling to keep on top of it all. Even the idea of "watching television" is in flux.
CSG sets up shops around the globe
February 25, 2013 2:55 pm | by Brian Santo | News | CommentsThe company has set up managed services Centers of Excellence in Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, and Africa, as well as in the Central and Latin America regions. CSG is using these centers to provide local support for its billing and business support systems.
Motorola extends reach of DreamGallery cloud
February 25, 2013 2:43 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsMotorola has tweaked its DreamGallery to render a more Internet-like user experience across a range of companion devices and legacy set-top boxes. The user navigation component of Motorola’s end-to-end Medios+ multi-screen platform is now hooked up with ActiveVideo Networks’ virtualized cloud-rendering technology.
Lamb wins Cable Center’s Bresnan Ethics in Business Award
February 25, 2013 2:33 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsLamb, along with 22 cable executives, founded C-SPAN in 1979, serving as CEO until he stepped down in 2012 to become its executive chairman of the board. Prior to launching C-SPAN, Lamb held various communications roles, including White House telecommunications policy staffer and Washington bureau chief for Cablevision magazine.
Concurrent notches customer win for CDN platform
February 25, 2013 2:13 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsConcurrent announced this morning that its unified content delivery network (CDN) platform was field deployed by a top-five North American multiple service operator.Concurrent didn’t identify the service provider that was using its MediaHawk CDN.
CMC updates HITS for independent cable operators
February 25, 2013 2:06 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsHITS has upgraded its Quantum Platform to help independent cable operators serve up more HD services in MPEG-2. Q2 supports existing MPEG-2 infrastructure, and includes converting several HITS standard definition (SD) transponders to DVB-S2 technology.
Charter narrows Q4 loss; heading for all-digital
February 22, 2013 2:11 pm | by Brian Santo | News | CommentsCharter Communications said its residential customer relationships increased by 20,000 during the fourth quarter of 2012, compared to the year-ago period, which CEO Tom Rutledge said was the best Q4 performance at the company in 10 years.
Cablevision announces sports programming fee for video customers
February 22, 2013 2:06 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsCablevision will charge its video subscribers an additional $2.98 a month to help offset the increased costs associated with sports programming. Cablevision’s sports programming surcharge will apply to customers that subscribe to its “Family” or “Value” packages or above.
Videotron raises data speeds, passes 500K mark for video service
February 22, 2013 1:55 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsCanadian cable operator Videotron announced it was increasing the upload speeds and data caps for most of its Ultimate Speed Internet data plans, and it also announced that it passed the 500-million customer mark for its revamped illico TV service.
Frontier reports flat Q4
February 22, 2013 1:47 pm | by Brian Santo | News | CommentsFrontier Communications reported fourth-quarter 2012 revenue of $1.2 billion, slightly down from the similar quarter last year, and net income of $24.9 million. During the quarter, the company reported having lost approximately 50,400 customers.
Sony shows PlayStation 4 capabilities, but no box
February 21, 2013 1:58 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsThe PS4 will essentially be a "supercharged PC, based on an x86-architecture chip from AMD. That's a big departure from the old and idiosyncratic PlayStation design. The new console will be jostling for attention this holiday season with Microsoft's successor to the Xbox, which is expected to be unveiled in June.
Videotron adds French on-demand service
February 21, 2013 1:40 pm | by Brian Santo | News | CommentsThe latest version of the MSO’s illico on demand services is aimed at French language speakers in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. Illico Club Unlimited will be offered at $9.99/month. For that, subscribers will get unlimited access to movies, television series, children’s programs, documentaries, comedy shows and concerts.


