Voice

Cablevision signs distribution deal with Telarus

February 11, 2013 2:54 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments

Sandy, Utah-based Telarus recently announced that it had entered into an agreement with Cablevision to distribute its triple-play business services. The deal opened the door to 1,200 independent commercial communication consultants who source through Telarus.

FCC aims to improve completion rate of long-distance calls to rural areas

February 8, 2013 11:35 am | by Andrew Berg, Wireless Week | News | Comments

The FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which seeks comment on rules to help address problems in the completion of long-distance telephone calls to rural customers. The NPRM is specifcally aimed at intermediate carries that complete long-distance calls for long-distance providers.

Charter bags former Bresnan systems for $1.625B

February 8, 2013 11:28 am | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments

Charter Communications, which is the nation’s fourth-largest cable operator, emerged as the sweepstakes winner for the former Bresnan systems with a winning bid to Cablevision of $1.625 billion. The deal is slated to close in the third quarter.

Idaho panel: Let telecoms call existing customers

February 8, 2013 11:26 am | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

A House committee agreed that Idaho should lift a 13-year-old restriction barring phone and cable TV companies from calling existing customers to market new products or services, rejecting an argument from the attorney general's office that the change would erode people's privacy protections.

Sprint posts record Q4 revenue, $1.3B loss

February 7, 2013 1:54 pm | by Andrew Berg, Wireless Week | News | Comments

The company said the loss was primarily due to network improvements related to its Network Vision initiative, including the shutdown of the Nextel platform. The company also noted $45 million, or negative $.01 per share (pre-tax), related to impacts from Superstorm Sandy.

A kaleidoscope of moving parts

February 7, 2013 11:34 am | by Craig Kuhl, Contributing Editor | Articles | Comments

The once heavily tech-driven business model of small Tier 2 and Tier 3 cable and broadband service providers is morphing into a kaleidoscope of moving, interchangeable parts. Smaller operators whose subscriber counts number in the four- and five-figure range are fiddling with and tweaking their business models like never before.

Harnessing the power of interoperability

February 6, 2013 11:59 am | by Robin Mersh, CEO of Broadband Forum | Articles | Comments

Technology development is accelerating, and consumer and enterprise demand for bandwidth-hungry content and applications continues to expand. The need for global standardization has become an industry prerequisite, driven by the needs of service providers to deliver robust new services quickly and cost-effectively.

Malone’s Liberty Global eyes Virgin Media

February 5, 2013 3:02 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments

John Malone’s Liberty Global is in the process of cooking up a deal to buy Virgin Media. Virgin Media’s price tag could be in the range of $24 billion, while its market capitalization stands at $10.4 billion. Including debt, its enterprise value is around $19.4 billion.

Skype launches direct carrier billing; it’s coming soon to U.S.

February 5, 2013 2:59 pm | by Andrew Berg, Wireless Week | News | Comments

Skype has launched carrier billing in Russia through technology from Mach and payvia. The company expects the service that allows users of the VoIP service to charge Skype credits directly to their carrier's monthly bill. Mach said the new feature will soon be available to Skype users in the United States and Canada.

Axtel launches IPTV with Ericsson

February 4, 2013 3:22 pm | by Brian Santo | News | Comments

Mexican telephony and broadband provider Axtel just fired up an IPTV. Ericsson said it is providing managed services, consulting and systems integration for the service. The initial launch is in Mexico's three largest cities: Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey.

Room service: Comcast targets hospitality sector

February 1, 2013 3:01 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments

Comcast has packaged up its Ethernet, Internet, video and voice services into a new product suite that was designed specifically for hotels and motels. Comcast Business Hospitality is available across Comcast’s entire footprint to hotels and motels.

Torbeck assumes CEO role at Cincinnati Bell

February 1, 2013 2:33 pm | by Andrew Berg, Wireless Week | News | Comments

Cincinnati Bell has appointed Ted Torbeck as the company's new CEO and member of the board of directors. He succeeds Jack Cassidy, who has been elected vice chairman of the board. The move is part of Cincinnati Bell’s established succession plan.

Time Warner Cable gears up for launch of cloud-based UI on IP boxes

January 31, 2013 2:33 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments

On a fourth-quarter and year-end earnings conference call, Time Warner Cable President and COO Rob Marcus outlined some of the cable operator’s key initiatives for this year, which included the rollout of a cloud-based user interface on IP set-top boxes and gateways.

Broadcom snags BroadLogic

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

Broadcom has purchased BroadLogic, Broadcom confirmed. The acquisition was made months ago, during the summer of 2012, but was not announced. The only previous public mention of the action was a status update attesting to the fact on the website of one of BroadLogic’s investors.

U-verse remains a growth driver in Q4

January 25, 2013 3:04 pm | by Brian Santo | News | Comments

AT&T reported a net gain of 192,000 U-verse TV subscribers for a total of 4.5 million TV customers, and a net gain of 609,000 high-speed Internet subscribers, to reach a total of 7.7 million. The company said its combined total of TV and broadband U-verse subscribers was 8 million.