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Monday, September 9, 2002 |
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• Comcast, Broadcom, Ucentric team for trial • Adelphia deploys Terayon's next-gen modems • Movielink, CinemaNow forge deals • Cable entrepreneur Barton dead at 51 • Some vendors plan N+I announcements
Comcast, Broadcom, Ucentric team
for Whole-house media distribution is at the heart of a just announced trial of home networking technology between operator Comcast and technology providers Broadcom and Ucentric Systems. The three announced plans for a joint trial in Philadelphia that should put some powerful advanced home networking gear and services in the hands of some select Comcast customers. Though not a true expansion of an earlier, ongoing laboratory trial between Comcast and Ucentric, the new project will take the form of a limited residential rollout with friendly Comcast customers, providing for more specific data collection from users in the field, especially with regard to the baseline transmission technology Ucentric aims to employ in their multi-TV PVR system now under development. "We're taking the HPNA over coax (transmission technology) into the field to a limited number of homes to do some initial testing. So we're really testing the underlying networking technology ... making sure there aren't any radiation issues, that the shielding strategies work, and that we don't have any transmission back up the cable that we don't want," explains the recently-appointed Ucentric CEO Michael Collette. "It's really looking at how HPNA over coax works in a live environment as opposed to a lab environment." Having a reliable, robust transmission medium is an essential component of the home networking and multiple-TV PVR system Ucentric is looking to deliver to operators. Ucentric's approach to home networking and media distribution goes beyond the single-box solutions that make up the market for PVR and home media distribution today. Its software powers a central "home server" and distributes content and information to other televisions in the house by employing multiple thin client "slave" units fanning out from the central server. And CEO Collette thinks the company has found that transmission platform in Broadcom's HomePNA iLine32 chipset, the technology providing physical and QoS protocol layers in the Ucentric system, at least in these initial field trials. Because their multi-TV PVR system ships high-bandwidth video and information to sites throughout the home, typical home networking technologies like 802.11, HomePlug, and the basic HomePNA (phoneline) platforms might not have the horsepower to do what Ucentric would be asking it to do. "We're probably the most demanding home networking application out there today, and I think that we're really driving demand for more and more advanced networking technologies," Collette added.
Related stories:
Adelphia deploys Terayon's next-gen modems Adelphia Communications Corp. has deployed Terayon Communication Systems Inc.'s DOCSIS 2.0-based next-generation cable modem in its high-speed network. The TJ 615 is certified for DOCSIS 1.1, but includes
the advanced PHY schemes for DOCSIS 2.0 (A-TDMA and S-CDMA). CableLabs,
however, has not yet started certification testing on DOCSIS 2.0
products. The DOCSIS 2.0 spec can increase upstream bandwidth
for cable modems to 30 megabits per second — three times
that of DOCSIS 1.1 units. Last month, Cox Communications and Comcast Corp. both named Terayon as a preferred next-generation cable modem vendor. Cox plans to deploy Terayon's TJ 715 DOCSIS 2.0-based cable modem for use in its networks, beginning with its Phoenix network. Comcast certified the TJ 615 for use in its broadband networks. Last week, Terayon appointed David Woodrow, a former executive at Cox and Qwest Communications International Inc., to its board of directors. Woodrow was chosen for the board because of the senior management positions he has held and his knowledge of running a cable company. Related stories:
CinemaNow, Movielink forge deals A technology deal with IBM has moved Movielink one step closer to launching its movies over the Internet service by year's end. Separately, CinemaNow Inc. has sealed a licensing agreement to deliver Warner Bros. pictures on-demand over the Net. Movielink, which was born from a joint venture formed between five major studios to deliver films on demand to broadband users in the United States, has turned to IBM Corp. to power its online movie service. Although financial terms were not disclosed, IBM will provide managed hosting services, including systems operations and network management. The five studios that own Movielink include Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Studios and Warner Bros. When the service launches, each studio will determine when to release and how much to charge for its own content. The deal with Warner Home Video will enable CinemaNow to offers its on-demand users a handful of pictures from Warner Bros., including new releases such as "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," and older films such as "Dial M For Murder" and "Mars Attacks." New releases will cost $3.99 for 24-hour access, while older films are available for $2.99. CinemaNow offers roughly 2,500 on-demand movies, and is in negotiations with others major studios for additional content. Related stories:
Coffee and Wi-Fi are becoming fast friends. The latest: Brewed Awakenings has teamed with DSL.net Inc. and QC2 to roll out high-speed wireless Internet services to its customers in Providence, R.I. Using 802.11b wireless technology, dubbed Wi-Fi, the coffee shop is offering customers a free 30-day trial. To access the trial, users must have a laptop or PDA equipped with a 802.11b card. Following the free 30-day trial, users that want to connect to the Net while enjoying their morning brew have several rate plan options from which to chose. QC2 offers an unlimited use plan for $30 per month, a daily rate of $6 per day and an hourly rate of $3. The companies plan to extend the hot-spot locations to others areas of Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts, and once this happens, users will be allowed to roam among the various locations under the same rate plan. Last month, Starbucks announced it had surrounded 1,200 of its U.S. cafes with a Wi-Fi-based local area network. T-Mobile International, a Deutsche Telekom wireless subsidiary, is powering the network. Related story:
Cable entrepreneur Barton dead at age 51 Peter Barton, a cable veteran with more than 20 years experience, died on Sept. 8 after a battle with stomach cancer. He was 51. Peter entered the world of cable in 1982, and four years later was named president of TCI's Cable Value Network. In 1991, he became president of Liberty Media Corp. He left Liberty in 1997 to start a private investment firm. Peter recently founded the Privacy Foundation at the University of Denver, a watchdog group formed to protect consumer privacy. Peter was not all about cable. Prior to joining the business sector, he put in a stint as a professional skier and tried his hand in the political arena. A memorial will be held to celebrate Peter's life on Tuesday, Sept. 17 at the City Lights Pavilion at the Pepsi Center in Denver. Peter is survived by his wife, Laura, and three children, Kate, Jeffrey and Christopher. He will be inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame Nov. 11. In lieu of flowers, donations in the name of Peter Barton can be made to The Denver Foundation, 950 S. Cherry Street, Suite 200, Denver, CO 80246, or The Children's Hospital Foundation, 1245 E. Colfax Avenue, Suite 400, Denver, CO 80218.
Aurora Networks, Optinel appoint executives; Speakeasy names a new board member; and Turer Corp. changes its name. Sniezko takes technology post at Aurora He comes to Aurora from AT&T Broadband, where he most recently held the position of vice president of engineering. During his time at AT&T Broadband, Sniezko had a hand in developing the LightWire and Oxiom cable system architectures. Faust takes CEO reigns at Optinel He has held senior management positions at Antec (Arris) Network Technologies, ClearBand, General Instrument and Scientific-Atlanta. Speakeasy names Vere Nicoll to board His appointment follows a recently announced $6 million funding package for Speakeasy, led Cornerstone. Turer changes name to IVI IVI acquires and operates independent ISPs in Tier
3 markets.
Some vendors plan N+I announcements
Even though many vendors are worried that NetWorld+Interop Atlanta 2002 might be light on attendees, the following networking equipment makers and network operators plan to announce products and services at the conference: • In conjunction with Boulder, Colo.-based SpectraLink Corp., Fort Lee, N.J.-based ReefEdge Inc. plans to introduce Version 3.0 of its ReefEdge Connect system for security and management of wireless LANs. The upgrade will add support for managing SpectraLink's line of 802.11x-based wireless phones, ReefEdge said. • Holtsville, N.Y.-based Symbol Technologies Inc. will formally announce its Mobius WLAN architecture, which puts wireless LAN security and management capabilities on a central switch instead of on individual wireless access points (QuickLink32531). • Proxim Corp. in Sunnyvale, Calif., will demonstrate a $ 249 kit it announced last week to upgrade 802.11b wireless networks to include support for the newer and faster 802.11a technology. Proxim also unveiled Tsunami QuickBridge, an outdoor wireless bridge that uses the 5.8-GHz band to connect two buildings up to six miles apart as a quick replacement for a T1 or leased line. Tsunami models range in price from $ 3,500 to $ 5,500. • Amsterdam-based Equant NV said it will announce a managed service that provides data, voice and video capabilities on IP-based VPNs. Equant won't have a booth at NetWorld+Interop, but it will meet with attendees to detail its global service, which uses IPports on Cisco routers to segregate data, voice and video traffic from one another. Equant officials said they have signed up 10 companies to use the service, but they wouldn't identify any of them. Editor's Note: NetWorld+Interop Atlanta 2002 opened
today and runs through Sept. 13.
• Charter rolls out online customer service Charter Communications Inc. has launched its end-user support portal to provide online customer service and support to its more than 900,000 Pipeline high-speed Internet customers. The service, powered by SupportSoft Inc., enables customers to find online self-help, ask how-to-questions and receive real-time technical help. Charter is using SupportSoft's Resolution Suite support
automation suite. • Advanced Fibre debuts TransMAX 1500 Advanced Fibre Communications has announced the general availability of the TransMAX 1500, an environmentally hardened, protocol agnostic Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer. The OADM has implemented hardened coarse wavelength division multiplexed light waves that are suitable for use in outside plant networks, according to Advanced Fibre Communications. The TransMAX 1500 provides 10 Gbps of optical networking capacity.
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