NDS teams with Cox for next-gen user interface
By: By Sarah Reedy
In a move to differentiate its television offering, third-largest cable provider Cox Communications today announced it has chosen NDS to implement a next-generation video user interface (UI). ...
More disturbing numbers for telcos
By: By Carol Wilson
Two separate sources this week are offering up more analysis showing the telcos are falling behind the cable companies in the broadband and video battle...
Clearwire-Sprint WiMAX deal reborn
By: By Kevin Fitchard
The deal that was lost has now been found. Sprint and Clearwire have resurrected their WiMAX joint venture, this time with the added bonus of a $3.2 billion investment from Google, Intel and three cable companies...
Broadweave to heal iProvo by shedding wholesale fiber model
By: By Ed Gubbins
Broadweave Networks, a provider of fiber-based triple-play services in greenfield developments, has acquired the municipal fiber network of Provo, Utah, vowing to improve the operation by replacing its open-access wholesale model with one in which Broadweave both owns the network and offers services over it...
Qwest wireless switch adds another nail to MVNO coffin
By: By Kevin Fitchard
Until Monday the main casualties of the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) fallout have been small boutique operators, but now Qwest Communications is giving up on its virtual operator relationship with Sprint, opting instead to sell the standard Verizon Wireless service available at any cellular kiosk. The MVNO business model isn’t just failing the niche players; it isn’t working for the big retail operators either...
Wild idea? AT&T, others to launch Skype competitor, firm predicts
By: Rich Karpinski
With voice lines eroding rapidly, AT&T, British Telecom, NTT and other incumbent carriers will soon launch their own IP telephony competitor to Skype, essentially writing off voice revenues entirely while moving customers to data, wireless and IPTV services, investment banking firm ThinkPanmure predicted today....
By the numbers
By: By Rich Karpinski
The telecom industry is changing and evolving so rapidly these days, it's sometimes hard to keep up. It's also difficult to separate hype from reality and real trends from blind alleys. For that reason, we thought we'd take a look at a (large) handful of key industry numbers, figures and metrics hard data or at least very strong, educated guesses to create a snapshot of where the industry is today, and where it's heading...
Building B says ‘open Sezmi’
By: By Carol Wilson
As promised, Building B, the company offering end-to-end wholesale video offerings to service providers, has relaunched itself as Sezmi Corp. and today also unveiled a set of advanced television features that it calls the complete TV 2.0 solution....
Alcatel-Lucent: As CDMA declines, W-CDMA steps up
By: By Kevin Fitchard
Alcatel-Lucent doubled its sales in Wideband CDMA in the first quarter as the synergies of Alcatel and Lucent Technologies' merged UMTS portfolios begin to emerge, company officials said today...
Updated: Time Warner spins off cable services
By: By Sarah Reedy
Time Warner Cable, which today announced will be fully separated from parent company Time Warner Inc., has beat out its main competitors, including AT&T and Verizon, in both video and broadband earnings. As both of the leading telcos state plans to increase the price tag on their video services, some analysts are predicting the run of success will continue...
Telepresence inches toward interoperability
By: By Dawn Bushaus
So far, most telepresence vendors have been myopically focused on getting their proprietary systems into the hands of customers, but service providers caution that they need to start thinking now about how to interconnect their systems in order to avoid islands of technology that can’t be bridged...
Putting the squeeze on HD
By: By Carol Wilson
Coming late to a market is not usually a sign of innovation, but as Thomson makes a U.S. push with its SmartVision IPTV system, the global video company is banking on doing things better than the existing players...
IPTV standard-bearer
By: By Carol Wilson
The DSL Forum might not seem like the obvious organization to tackle IPTV standards, but based on its work delivering end-to-end visibility into broadband networks via its TR-069 standard, the global group is now firmly focused on IPTV quality of experience as well...
Surfing the TV
By: By Sarah Reedy
It is hard to imagine surfing the Internet without a search engine, yet this remains the only option for television viewers seeking a similar experience...
DISH’s DVB-SH testing could gel with 700 MHz plans
By: By Sarah Reedy
In another boon to the expanding DVB-SH ecosystem, DISH Network and Alcatel-Lucent today announced they will test the new hybrid satellite-terrestrial mobile broadcast technology in the United States starting in May of this year...
NextWave to unload U.S. spectrum
By: By Kevin Fitchard
NextWave plans to sell its U.S. wireless spectrum, ending all pretensions of becoming a mobile operator and allowing the carrier-turned-vendor to focus exclusively on its multi-faceted equipment and software businesses....
IDC: Consumers willing to pay for faster Net video
By: By Carol Wilson
A new IDC study shows both service providers and content distributors may be missing revenue opportunities by not offering consumers the option of paying more for faster Internet video downloads. ...
AT&T touts macro-economic defenses
By: By Ed Gubbins
AT&T countered widespread fears of slow economic trends with growth in first-quarter profits aided by its wireless and wholesale businesses...
AT&T teams with Cisco on managed telepresence
By: By Carol Wilson
AT&T will soon become the first major telecom operator to launch a managed telepresence service, teaming with Cisco Systems to enable a wider range of businesses to do high-end video conferencing by eliminating the major upfront capital expense and enabling users to connect in the network with other subscribers...
MediaFLO goes live in San Diego
By: By Sarah Reedy and Kevin Fitchard
Qualcomm filled a slightly embarrassing hole in MediaFLO network coverage today, announcing that the broadcast TV service has now officially launched in its hometown San Diego...
NAB: Independents not without IPTV options, vendors say
By: By Carol Wilson
LAS VEGAS--IPTV equipment vendors are sympathetic to the plight of independent telcos who pioneered deployment of the technology and now say they are having trouble getting advanced features. Some of those who were present here this week say there are options, however...
NAB: Securing the future of IPTV
By: By Sarah Reedy
LAS VEGAS – Layers of security protection for IPTV may have a place in doing more than just deterring content thieves. Measures like deep packet inspection (DPI) and digital rights management (DRM) – once somewhat controversial – are now key elements in maintaining relevancy and taking IPTV across all three screens, industry executives said today. ...
NAB: Mobile TV’s Three ‘Megatrends’
By: By Sarah Reedy
Among an array of standards for mobile television, the FLO Forum had a presence at the NAB show this week promoting Forward-Link Only (FLO) as the standard of choice to expedite the mobile TV market....
NAB: Is network-based DVR an IPTV savior?
By: By Carol Wilson
LAS VEGAS--There is a small groundswell of support among U.S. IPTV players to see network-based digital video recording become part of the video ecosystem, enabling high-definition content to be more easily delivered over bandwidth-constrained copper networks...
NAB: Independent telco exec tells IPTV cautionary tale
By: By Carol Wilson
LAS VEGAS--Phil Erli was an early IPTV convert. The executive vice president of Georgia-based ILEC Ringgold Telephone Company has been “doing” IPTV for five years, deploying well ahead of AT&T and other major global carriers. But as he told a NAB audience Monday, real-life experience has made him somewhat cynical about IPTV’s real-world prospects...
