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New Technology, Old Rules?
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SBC Communications Inc.'s new direct fiber
connection initiative looks to be the next battleground in the growing
debate over whether older regulations should apply to new telco
architectures. And the results will have a significant impact on how
telcos deploy broadband.
--May 21, 2001
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Stuck in the Middle
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With its nationwide fiber backbone, Qwest is rolling
out DSL service nationwide as a competitor to various local incumbents. At the same
time, it is also ramping up DSL services as the ILEC in its 14-state RBOC territory.
That dual nature puts Qwest in a unique and precarious policy position.
--May 21, 2001
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Freedom Delayed
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The so-called Internet Freedom and Broadband
Deployment Act may be cooling its heels on Capitol Hill for a while.
--May 21, 2001
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IXCs Go Metro
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Some of the most powerful U.S. long distance
carriers have been extending their long-haul networks into the metro area
space as a response to sagging long distance voice revenue, and some new
research indicates the strategy could bring a huge payoff.
--May 21, 2001
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Teligent Gets Second Reprieve in Fund Search
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This week's the watershed for Teligent Inc. The
broadband fixed wireless had until May 21 to get new financing that would
satisfy its bankers and--it hoped--keep it out of bankruptcy court.
--May 21, 2001
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Squaring Off Over Spectrum
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As the Federal Communications Commission
continues grappling with allocation of spectrum for next-generation mobile
wireless services, new ideas literally are dropping out of the blue.
--May 21, 2001
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Changing Lanes
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It began with a focus on helping small market
cable operators build and field high-speed data services, by sharing the cost
and the profit. But in these tough economic times, High Speed Access Corp. is
finding that strategy is too risky for business.
--May 21, 2001
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Nortel Pulls Plug on DSL
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If broadband equipment behemoth Nortel
Networks can't make it in DSL, what does that say for the rest of the
industry? That's a question many were asking after the telecom gear
maker confirmed earlier this month that it was pulling the plug on its
slumping digital subscriber line business.
--May 21, 2001
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Satellite Broadband Battles Continue
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While Capitol Hill lawmakers fight over their
agendas for spurring broadband service deployments, a side battle among vendors
aiming to use satellite spectrum for offering terrestrial broadband is getting
more complicated.
--May 21, 2001
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Land Grab
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Content delivery network provider Digital
Island Inc. is set to become the territory of Cable and Wireless plc under
a merger agreement announced last week.
--May 21, 2001
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Spike Snares Danish Contract
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The race to deploy broadband access across
Europe has caught the attention of New Hampshire-based Spike Broadband
Systems Inc. Spike won a $335 million contract to deploy a nationwide
broadband fixed wireless network in Denmark for Sonofon, Denmark's second
largest telecommunications company. The five-year contract, along with an
unnamed systems integrator, is valued at a total of about $400 million, and
is the largest deployment of its kind announced so far.
--May 21, 2001
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Q1: Broadband Sales Show Strength
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Broadband service providers entered first
quarter 2001 fearing the worst for digital subscriber line and cable modem
Internet services sales. But as cable and telephone companies report
first-quarter earnings, DSL and cable modem sales are showing surprising
strength.
--May 21, 2001
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Big Billing Companies Grow, Smaller Players Suffer
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Your parents were right. It never hurts to
have steady work when times get tough. The current economic slowdown has
hurt some smaller billing/back office companies while more established
players are sailing along, thanks to deeper pockets and established customer
relationships in the more recession-proof pockets of the telecommunications
business such as broadband services.
--May 21, 2001
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DSL Provisioning Still an Enigma
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Bring up the words "provisioning" and
"deployments" with just about anybody in the DSL market, and you'll
quickly hear the same mantra over and over again. "Things are getting
better," they'll repeat, sometimes it seems with their eyes closed while
tapping their heels together three times.
--May 21, 2001
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Getting In Tune
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The need for speedy, flexible optical
network technology has not diminished with the recent economic blues,
and the next generation of optical lasers is seen as a way to get more
bang for the buck out of present and future network topologies.
--May 21, 2001
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TollBridge's VoIP Task
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How important to cable TV system operators
is the traditional telephone infrastructure? Just ask those trying to
establish their own Internet Protocol cable telephony businesses.
--May 21, 2001
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High-speed Highrise
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While much of the broadband focus these days
is on single-family residential and business services, Verizon Avenue is busy
beating a path to a third consumer door--the multiple dwelling unit market.
--May 21, 2001
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Widening Cable's Upstream Path
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The subject of cable's upstream signal path
often is likened to the old saw about trying to fit 10 pounds of, shall we
say, "stuff" into a five-pound bag. Inherently slender, the 5-40 MHz
upstream zone is shared among users; spectrally, it's not exactly a warm,
cozy place.
--May 21, 2001
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Bridging the MPEG Gap
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Internet and traditional broadcast video
formats are two distinct worlds that up to now have been separated by a
deep technical gulf. Without a bridge to connect the two, cable operators
can't easily funnel bandwidth-efficient Internet video content directly
into interactive digital set-top boxes.
--May 21, 2001
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Stuck in the Middleware?
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Cable-based interactive TV long has
promised that next-generation digital set-top boxes will turn boob
tubes into smart sets, loaded with information and entertainment
marvels. But in trying to making that happen, the industry is
finding a significant devil is in the middleware.
--May 21, 2001
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Operators' Smooth Transition
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While they face a lot of the financial
challenges common to new wireless companies, Sprint PCS's affiliate
partners say that migrating to next-generation mobile broadband
technology isn't one of them.
--May 21, 2001
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Banding Together with Laser Clarity
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The fledgling free space optics industry is
getting together to promote the use of laser technology for high-speed,
high-bandwidth data transmission.
--May 21, 2001
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Will 2600 Have to Desist with DeCSS?
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A key and controversial provision of the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) faces renewed scrutiny this month,
as the Second Circuit Court of Appeals considers both the legality of the
DVD movie-cracking code, DeCSS, and the legality of offering it for
download over the Internet.
--May 21, 2001
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New Big Blue
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Although its full name is International
Business Machines, entertainment is gaining importance these days for the
computing giant--specifically, systems integration and software aimed at
goosing the interactive TV market. The question is, can Big Blue gain a
foothold in these chaotic markets where there is no short supply of players?
--May 21, 2001
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Will What Goes Up Come Back Down?
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With demand continuing to soar and the
competitive landscape eroding, the prices for broadband service slowly
are inching upward. One by one, the larger service providers each have
revealed new product options and pricing plans over the last few months.
--May 21, 2001
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Bankruptcy Heads Ups
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When a company starts using the "B" word--yes,
we're talking bankruptcy--it's time to take that company at its word. While
not every troubled enterprise wants to talk about the possibility that it may
have to seek bankruptcy court protection from creditors, it's becoming
increasingly common for such outfits to preview their worst-case scenarios
to the world.
--May 21, 2001
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Broadside:
The Conundrum of Choice
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Bill Menezes: It's encouraging to see the major
video game console makers moving closer to bringing broadband connectivity to their
machines, but my enthusiasm is tinged with more than a little concern about what might
result.
--May 21, 2001
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Always On:
Where Did DTV Go?
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Gary Arlen: Except for an ersatz "DTV Store" and
the convoluted diktats about the digital television rollout schedule, you could have
roamed around last month's NAB convention immune from the DTV assault that had been a
centerpiece of that event for the past few years. Even as the terrestrial DTV transition
deadline clicks closer (including a mid-2002 universal start-up target), the broadcast
industry and its suppliers are preparing to ignore the government mandate.
--May 21, 2001
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Through the Pipe:
Open Access Customer Care
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Randall Cardinal: As users increasingly use a
single point of entry to access a host of providers and services (Web hosting,
Internet access, video-on-demand to name a few), customer care and billing becomes
exponentially more complex. Let's not forget that ultimately, the customers' experience
with service providers will make or break open access.
--May 21, 2001
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