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Monday, August 19, 2002 |
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• Convergys inks $29M Cox deal • EarthLink: It's the Pop-Up Blocker to the rescue • BroadJump adds Rhapsody
option • Scientific-Atlanta, Adelphia reach terms • Efficient debuts new family of DSL CPE • Judge allows consumer voice in DVR court fight • VOD start-up MidStream raises $26M • Arris bows ‘Touchstone’ cable modem • ISPs offering slower speeds; access Convergys Corp. is building on its seven-year relationship with Cox Communications Inc. The latest: the company will provide the MSO with customer care services. The three-year deal calls for Convergys to deliver technical support via voice, e-mail and live chat to Cox's high-speed Internet customers. The contract is valued at $29 million. Cox has been a billing services customer of Convergys since 1996. This deal represents new business for the billing services company. The Convergys services complement Cox's customer-centric philosophy, said Kimberly Edmunds, Cox's vice president of customer service support. In May, Charter Communications turned to Convergys for outsourced billing services. To enhance its billing services package, Convergys recently upgraded its WIZARD platform, integrating enhanced CRM capabilities, support for new telephony services, and expanded API support. WIZARD Release 7.5 is part of a larger effort to help operators migrate their billing and customer care systems for new transaction-based services like interactive TV and IP-based services. Related stories:
EarthLink: It's the Pop-Up Blocker to the rescue Who wants to get rid of those pesky pop-up ads? EarthLink Inc. is banking the answer will be a resounding "Me!" The company has become the first ISP to roll out software that will block unwanted pop-up ads from popping onto subscribers' desktops. The new Pop-Up Blocker software is designed to provide users with a "more enjoyable, less intrusive Internet experience," said Rob Kaiser, vice president of narrowband marketing at EarthLink. The company hopes to attract customers from America Online and MSN, which generate a portion of their revenue from online advertising. In conjunction with the new software, EarthLink is launching a $10 million ad campaign to lure narrowband and broadband subscribers away from its rivals. The campaign tagline, "Why Wait? Move to EarthLink," urges Internet surfers to "seek an alternative to annoying delays, drop-offs, pop-up ads and excessive spam." The campaign, which kicks off this week, includes spots on national TV, radio, online and in print. EarthLink subscribers can download a preview of Pop-Up Blocker at www.earthlink.net/popupblocker. The software will be available as part of EarthLink's latest software offering, TotalAccess 2003. EarthLink shares were up nearly 10 percent as of 12:43 p.m. EDT, trading at $6.66. Related stories:
BroadJump adds Rhapsody option
Broadband service activation software provider BroadJump is looking to add even more value to their market-leading activation platform, and they're signing up content and application providers to the mix to provide operators with that added value. The latest integration effort was announced with Listen.com. The company's Rhapsody digital music subscription service will be available as an embedded option in BroadJump's ControlWorks Activation Edition software platform. Service providers that adopt the platform will be able to engage the Rhapsody option or not, and will be able to place user prompts for the music service, registration information or player download directions either in the activation and set-up process, or strategically within the provider's broadband portal. "Our partnerships with companies like Listen.com are about creating a technology relationship so that our platform is able to fulfill their service, and is integrated into their subscriber acquisition and registration process in a seamless way," explains Kenny Van Zant, BroadJump COO. "It basically lowers all of the barriers around getting the service rolled out because ... we can basically drop in the fulfillment of these types of services with these partners directly into the platform." The Rhapsody subscription service is one of the more compelling music subscription services available over the Internet today, as it is the only service to provide consumers legal access to music from all five major record labels. Rhapsody allows users to stream songs from a library of more than 200,000 tracks for a flat rate monthly fee of around $10. It's also a service that can maximize a broadband connection, making it a good fit with the BroadJump platform. In terms of securing new revenue from customers who sign up for the Rhapsody service, service providers who opt to include customer prompts in the installation process will need to still negotiate their own revenue-sharing deals with Listen.com, Van Zant says. BroadJump will simply be a facilitator, and will provide the technological integration necessary to frame such an agreement. "Every (service provider) customer will have their own campaign about how to market the service," he adds. "The objective here for us is to lower the technical and business model barriers to entry, but not tie (our partners') hands about how to roll the service out. We're trying to be an enabler here. We get value when our platform is valued." The latest Listen.com integration deal is part of BroadJump's larger ChannelDirect initiative, where content and application providers can have their services pre-integrated into the BroadJump activation platform. By making integration easy, BroadJump can add compelling services to its platform. At the same time, ChannelDirect partners can promote their services in front of a captive target audience, namely new users setting up their broadband connections for the first time. Other recent ChannelDirect partners include FamilyCLICK, which offers integrated Internet content filtering services; McAfee for anti-virus and security applications; NCsoft for online gaming; and SwapDrive, which offers additional storage services. - Related stories:
Scientific-Atlanta, Adelphia reach terms The companies have signed on the dotted line, and Scientific-Atlanta Inc. and Adelphia Communications Corp. will continue to do business in the future. The agreement calls for the set-top box maker to continue to supply bankrupt Adelphia with products and services. The announcement formalizes a verbal agreement first announced on July 18 between the two companies. Scientific-Atlanta and Adelphia have had a relationship for more than 20 years now, and will continue to work together despite the fact that Scientific-Atlanta was forced to debook $199.8 million in orders from Adelphia. Sales slipped 37 percent during the fourth quarter at Scientific-Atlanta, with part of the slide stemming from Adelphia's financial troubles. On Friday, Scientific-Atlanta announced plans to reduce its work force by 6 percent. The restructuring will translate to an annual $40 million savings, beginning in the second half of fiscal 2003, the company said. Related stories:
Efficient debuts new family of DSL CPE DSL CPE leader Efficient Networks has announced a new family of DSL modems and SOHO routers, branded SpeedStream. The new line of CPE is the first group of products to be developed, built and marketed by Efficient since the company was acquired by German uberfirm Siemens last year. Today, the company claims major DSL customers like SBC, Deutsche Telekom, Bell Canada, and Earthlink, among others. The new line of SpeedStream 5x DSL CPE range from a basic entry level modem, and add routing and port flexibility to models higher up along the chain. On the lower end, Efficient offers a single Ethernet DSL modem, with support for G.lite and full-rate ADSL up to 8 Mbps downstream. Moving up, Efficient adds a combo Ethernet/USB modem, a 4-port Ethernet SOHO DSL router, and then a 4-port Ethernet/USB SOHO router at the top of the line. The new line of SpeedStream CPE will effectively replace the line-up of CPE products developed and sold by Efficient as a private company. "The unique thing about of the products, aside from being very cost-effective and built on commodity-type hardware, is that they all run a standardized operating system that Efficient has built," explains Tom Willie, vice president of the SpeedStream Product Group at Efficient. "This allows us to do customization of features for all of the service providers that we sell to." He further describes how the family shares a hardware design with "stuffing options," leveraging resources in the design to either add in or take out features and ports based on provider preference. A highly interoperable AR5 chipset from Texas Instruments is the brain of each new Efficient model in the family, and allows for service providers to customize the CPE they provide to their DSL customers. In terms of launch timeline, Efficient today is shipping the two lower end models, the single Ethernet and upgrade USB model, with the two more advanced routing boxes just now coming off of the production line, according to Willie. -
Judge allows consumer voice in DVR court fight In what could be called a reversal of fortune for five ReplayTV owners, a federal judge has changed her mind and will allow the owners to defend their use of digital video recorders. U.S. District Court Judge Florence Cooper has ruled that consumer input is needed to determine whether specific uses -- such as skipping commercials -- is legally permissible. The decision, which is a reversal of Judge Cooper's tentative order last week, denies the entertainment industry's request to dismiss the consumer suit. In October 2001, a group of Hollywood heavyweights filed a lawsuit alleging that SONICblue's broadband-enabled ReplayTV 4000 digital video recorder violates copyright laws. In the suit, they claim that the ReplayTV 4000's ability to enable users to automatically skip commercials and send digital copies of shows over the Internet to up to 15 other device users will hurt the entertainment companies' advertising and subscription fees revenue streams. Walt Disney Co., Viacom Inc. and General Electric filed the suit to prevent SONICblue from shipping the DVR, but despite the lawsuit, SONICblue began shipping the ReplayTV 4000 DVRs a few weeks later. A few months later, the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a suit against the entertainment industry on behalf of five ReplayTV 4000 owners. The battle has been raging ever since. "We're pleased the court has recognized that the debate over digital video recorders must include the customers who purchase and use the devices," said Robin Gross, a Electronic Frontier Foundation Intellectual Property attorney. Related stories:
VOD startup Midstream raises $26M Fledgling video server company Midstream Technologies said it raised $26 million in a third round of funding led by Canaan Venture Partners, a venture capital firm and a new investor in the Bellevue, Wash.-based startup. With the latest round Midstream has raised a total of $48 million - enough for a fully-funded business plan, according to company President and CEO Ed Huguez. Other new series C round participants included Frazier Technology Ventures, ProVen Private Equity and The University of North Carolina. Midstream’s stable of previous investors include Polaris Venture Partners, Arch Venture Partners, Xilinx Inc. and Fluke Ventures. As a result of the third financing round, Mark Mangiola of Cannan Venture Partners and the former president and general manager of @Home Solutions, and Richard von Riesen of Frazier Technology Ventures, will join Midstream’s board of directors. Huguez said the financing will help pay for the development of Midstream’s IP2000-series video server and its integration with set-tops and interactive program guides. Midstream released the product line in December 2001. Midstream, he added, will also tap those funds to “ramp up our sales effort,” and market the company and its products to cable operators and telcos. So far, Midstream has secured a total of six trials, plus a commitment for one with a “top 10 MSO,” Huguez said, but declined to be more specific about which cable and telco providers Midstream is presently working with. On the technical front, Midstream’s 2 RU-high video servers employ dual native Gigabit Ethernet ports, enough for more than 500 concurrent 3 Mbps streams. In addition to selling equipment directly to operators, Midstream’s hardware approach might also open up technology partnerships with other server makers. “We’re complementary to nCube [Corp.], SeaChange [International] and Concurrent [Computer Corp.],” Huguez said. “We have discussions underway…and we’re open to relationships with and among all of them.” - Related stories:
Arris bows ‘Touchstone’ cable modem Arris said it has launched the Touchstone Cable Modem 300, a device based on DOCSIS 1.1 specifications. Arris said it submitted that model to CableLabs for 1.1 testing during certification wave 23. That wave is scheduled to end on Sept. 20, with results made public on or around Sept. 26. The rollout marks the first cable modem to be marketed under the Touchstone brand, Arris said. The vendor also markets the Touchstone Telephony Modem 102A, a DOCSIS 1.1-certified embedded multiple terminal adapter for cable IP telephony services. In addition to DOCSIS 1.1, the CM 300 also supports
A-TDMA (Advanced Time-Division Multiple Access), one of two advanced
physical layer schemes required by DOCSIS 2.0, an advanced CableLabs
specification designed to mitigate noise and boost upstream bandwidth
three times that of networks based on DOCSIS 1.1. However, a cable
modem or cable modem termination system (CMTS) must also support
S-CDMA (synchronous code-division multiple access) before it can
win certification or qualification for DOCSIS 2.0. - Related stories:
ISPs offering slower speeds; access
High-speed Internet connections may be getting cheaper, but only if you'll settle for a slower version of fast. Hoping to attract Internet users who won't pay the $50 or so a month for a typical broadband connection, some providers are moving away from a one-speed-fits-all approach and introducing a slower, lower-priced level of service. Covad Communications Group Inc., one of the high-profile failures of the dot-com collapse, is taking another aggressive stab at the powerful telephone and cable TV monopolies that dominate broadband. Rejuvenated by a stint in bankruptcy, the company recently launched a digital subscriber line, or DSL, service priced at $ 39.95 a month with an introductory rate of $21.95 for the first four months. And Charter Communications Inc., the nation's fourth-largest cable TV company, has been offering broadband for $30 or $35 a month on most of its systems in 40 states for at least a year. The catch? "It's a little bit slower but a heck of a lot faster than dial-up and well worth the money," said Steve Martin, a longtime America Online customer who recently switched to Covad at his home in San Jose. The speed probably won't satisfy those looking to download music or set up a Web site. But Martin, a procurement officer for a technology company, considers his Covad connection speed more than sufficient for checking e-mail, downloading photographs and making travel arrangements. "The killer application on the Internet is still e-mail, and as long as that's the case, 200k (kilobits per second) is fine," said Mark Kersey, an analyst for ARS Research. It's unclear whether tiered broadband will help reverse the price increases that cable and phone companies put in place as the dot-com meltdown wiped out competition from feisty rivals. At the end of June, the average monthly charge for cable broadband was $45.31, up from $37.05 at the end of 2000, according to the latest market survey by ARS Research. DSL prices averaged $51.36 at midyear, up from $48.84 at the close of 2000, ARS reported. Tiered pricing isn't new to broadband. For years, customers willing to pay more than $50 a month have been able to get speedier connects. But now, possibly because of the renewed competition, the big players also are toying with a tiered approach at the lower end. AT&T Broadband, which two weeks ago launched a faster tier of cable Internet service for $80 a month, also plans market trials with a lower-speed version this year. Most of the companies dabbling with a lower-priced version of broadband are hoping to get dial-up users hooked on speed, confident that even the most price-conscious subscribers will quickly recognize what they were missing without an "always-on" connection. "It's addictive. They can never go back to dial-up," said Charles Golvin, an industry analyst at Forrester Research. Because the profit margins on entry-level offerings are less than robust, there are questions about whether such business models are any more viable than they were during the dot-com boom. Covad believes that its model can work now that regulatory changes allow it to provide DSL over a customer's existing phone line rather than a separately installed line. Ideally, for players both big and small, any entry-level tier of service will serve as a steppingstone to higher-revenue plans. Once people convert to broadband, getting them to pay $10 more for faster service is easier than getting them to initially switch from dial-up, Golvin and Kersey said.
• Concero closes its doors iTV integration firm Concero Inc. has ceased operations and plans to liquidate the corporation. Timothy Webb will assist Concero with the sale of its Marquee software product and continue in his capacity as CEO until Sept. 6, 2002, at which time he will leave to pursue other endeavors. Kevin Kurtzman, a Concero director, will serve as CEO after Webb departs. The plan is subject to shareholder approval. • Pace promotes Novak Pace Micro Technology - Americas has promoted David Novak to the position of vice president of marketing. He will be responsible for building relationships with key industry executives and identifying new business development opportunities in areas of satellite, terrestrial, voice over IP and video telephony. Novak has been with the company since 1999. • Lucent inks China deals Telecom equipment giant Lucent Technologies Inc. has inked $15 million in contracts to supply optical networking equipment in China. The deals call for Lucent to deliver its LambdaUnite MultiService Switch, multi-service access products and network management systems to Shanghai Telecom, Guangdong Unicom, Zhongshan Telecom and Zhejiang Telecom.
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