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Monday, September 30, 2002 |
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• Convergent dials up cable VoIP strategy • Cable modem customers pass 10-million mark • Arris, Alopa partner to strengthen telephony position • AT&T Broadband upgrades digital network in Plano • Microsoft buys Liquid Audio's intellectual property • Cox to offer HDTV next month in San Diego
Convergent dials up cable VoIP strategy After toiling away early and quietly on the PacketCable front, Convergent Networks now appears ready to start making some noise about cable-based IP telephony. Founded in 1998, Lowell, Mass.-based Convergent had its cable coming-out party this week with the release of “Cohesion,” a PacketCable-based product suite comprised of media gateways, SS7 signaling gateways, tandem proxies and element management systems. “We’re a company that has been focused on PacketCable from the beginning,” said Convergent Director of Marketing Carl Baptiste. “We’re not coming in as a PacketCable carpetbagger.” Convergent is also playing up the fact that its equipment is designed to help cable operators create clear demarcation zones between the existing PSTN (public switched telephony network) and the IP telephony side of the network. That combination “gives [cable operators] a level of simplification and keeps the solution extremely open,” Baptiste said. So far, Convergent has demonstrated interoperability with a spate of third-party products, including multimedia terminal adapters from Scientific-Atlanta, Motorola Broadband, Arris and Terayon Communication Systems, and cable modem termination systems built by Cisco Systems and Motorola Broadband. The company has also completed test plans with call management servers from companies such as Gallery ipT, Siemens and Telcordia, and is awaiting compliance with CMS vendor Syndeo. Convergent, which competes in the gateway sector with companies such as Nuera, Cisco, Siemens and Sonus, claims that its gateway product can scale up to about 24,000 calls per shelf. “We see the [cable VoIP] market emerging,” Baptiste said, noting that most of the major cable players have issued IP telephony RFPs and are well down the path to do technical and revenue-generating trials. Although Comcast Corp. has been upfront about its Philadelphia-area VoIP deployment slated for mid-2003, other MSOs are moving ahead with their own plans, albeit much more quietly, he added. Convergent isn’t the only one that sees some near-term upside for cable’s VoIP prospects. According to Kinetic Strategies, North American cable operators will sign up 2.4 million IP telephony customers by the end of 2005, and reach 5.8 million subs in 2006. “Progress is being made and real things are happening,” Baptiste said. “If you’re not in these trials and tests now, you’re probably not in this market.” That said, Baptiste estimates that trial PacketCable installations should be up and running by mid-2003, with deployments ramping up in 2004. Convergent has at least one lab and one field trial upcoming with undisclosed cable operators, Baptiste said. Convergent has been shipping product from its Cohesion product line since early 2000, and has shipped more than 100 switches into the market so far. Convergent has about 14 installed customers to date, including Cablevision Systems’ Lightpath division, Broadwing and GlobalNAPs, a CLEC that operates an east coast network. “We’ve got PSTN experience, which is something I think
we bring to the cable market,” Baptiste, said.
Cable modem customers pass 10-million mark The U.S. cable modem customer base will top 10 million at the end of the third quarter 2002, according to the National Cable & Telecommunications Association. The milestone "reflects continued steady growth in consumer demand for cable broadband services," said Robert Sachs, NCTA president and CEO. The number of cable modem customers in the United States has grown from a base of 10,000 at the end of 1996. At the end of last year, the industry had 7.2 million customers. There is still room for growth, according to NCTA. Cable modem services are available to more than 75 million households in the United States, with 50 million of these households having a personal computer. "The 10 million cable modem customer mark represents more than 20 percent of the households with personal computers that are passed by cable systems where high-speed data service is available," said Sachs. Collectively since 1996, the cable industry has invested more than $65 billion to upgrade systems to enable the delivery of advanced digital services, according to NCTA. This investment averages out to roughly $1,000 per customer.
Arris, Alopa partner to strengthen telephony position Arris has inked a reseller agreement with Alopa Networks to boost its ability to deliver its CompleteVoice end-to-end voice and data service program to cable operators. The deal grants Arris the right to resell Alopa's MetaServ provisioning platform. Financial terms were not disclosed. Alopa's MetaServ provisioning platform is designed for small- to mid-size cable operators, and interfaces with both proprietary and packet cable standards-based equipment and software. Its service-creation and diagnostic tools are intended to enable cable operators control over customization and scalability at all organizational levels. The MetaServ QuickStart allows service creation, selection, activation and "assurance," and was designed for rapid deployment -- it will be installed and provisioned within 30 days of a signed contract, according to Alopa. "With this agreement, Arris continues to deliver solutions that will help cable operators deploy high-speed data and telephony over IP faster and more economically," Arris' Broadband business unit President Jim Lakin said. Arris' Touchstone Telephony Modem Embedded Multimedia Terminal Adapter has received DOCSIS 1.1 certification, while its Cadant C4 CMTS and Touchstone modems have received both DOCSIS 1.1 and Euro-DOCSIS 1.1 certification. The mutually beneficial deal gives Alopa access to
a global sales team and helps it establish an operational support
presence on the worldwide stage, the companies said in a statement.
Related stories:
AT&T Broadband upgrades digital network in Plano After a $5 million investment in its Plano, Texas digital network, AT&T Broadband has rolled out high-speed Internet access services to the city's residents. The service offers residential customers always-on access, multiple e-mail accounts, personal Web space, 24/7 technical support, search and navigation tools, chat and newsgroup access, personal firewall protection and the ability to connect up to five computers to one modem. For subscribers on the go, AT&T Broadband also is offering remote access nationwide via a dial-up connection. For a one-time registration fee of $10, subscribers received two hours of dial-up access each month. The service is provided through a partnership with PeoplePC. To attract customers, AT&T Broadband is offering free, basic installation of the high-speed Internet access service and a promotional price of $24.95 a month for the first three months. The service offers speeds of up to 1.5 megabits per second downstream and 256 kilobits per second upstream. For customers who feel the need for more speed, AT&T Broadband also will offer its UltraLink faster broadband tier product. The product enables cable modem subscribers to download data at up to 3 Mbps, and upload information at rates as high as 384 kbps. The company first announced the higher speed service last month. To date, AT&T Broadband has 1.8 million high-speed cable modem service customers in the United States, according to the company. Specifically in the Dallas/Fort Worth market sector, AT&T Broadband offers its cable modem service in 34 cities. Related stories:
European cable network operator United Pan-Europe Communications NV has reached an agreement with its creditors to restructure its debt. The deal will give its parent UnitedGlobalCom a minimum 65.5 percent interest in the company. The recapitalization plan calls the elimination of 65 percent of UPC's debt. The company has $10.5 billion in debt. The company's debt stems from buying up European cable networks. Once the plan is complete, UPC will have an equity value of $1.87 billion. UGC has agreed to underwrite up to $98.7 million in additional funding to UPC, through the issuance of new stock once the plan is completed. The restructured UPC will offer each holder of UPC notes and Belmarken notes the right to purchase a pro rated share of up to $98.7 million of additional shares of new UPC common stock. The plan will give UPC sufficient resources to fund its operations through to positive free cash flow without the need for additional capital, according to UGC president and chief operating officer Mike Fries. Fries did not elaborate on when the company would reach positive free cash flow. Liberty Media Corp. owns a 72 percent stake in UGC. At the end of June, UGC's networks reached 19.1 million homes. In hopes of carrying out the plan smoothly, UPC has agreed to voluntarily file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. UPC expects to complete the recapitalization of its balance sheet by the end of the first quarter 2003. Related story:
Microsoft buys Liquid Audio's intellectual property Microsoft Corp. has snapped up Liquid Audio Inc.'s patents for cash consideration of $7 million. The streaming media software provider enables music fans to download and purchase digital files off the Internet, but is trying to shift its focus from product development to digital distribution of media to retail. In the deal, Microsoft gains access to several of Liquid Audio's key patents related to its technology and product architecture, including patents for digital rights management and technology to enable the secure transfer of content to portable devices. Microsoft has agreed to grant Liquid Audio a royalty-free
license to continue using the patented technology in its digital
distribution system.
Cox to offer HDTV next month in San Diego
Cox Communications Inc. will launch its high-definition television service in San Diego at the end of next month, providing further momentum for the technology. Starting Oct. 29, Cox cable customers will be able to get high-definition television for programming on HBO, NBC, Showtime and G4, a new interactive gaming channel. Cox also hopes to offer the service for CBS, ABC and PBS but has not yet completed the deals. The eye-popping picture will cost consumers, however. There is a one-time installation fee of $66 and the monthly fee for an HDTV set-top box will be $10.30. The regular set-top box costs $3 a month. The entry of Cox, the largest cable provider in San Diego County, into the HDTV market is further evidence that the technology might finally be ready for prime time. While HDTV promises top-quality picture clarity, likened to viewing a movie in a theater, it has taken decades to catch on and only a fraction of all TV sets can display a HDTV signal. Last year more than 30 million new television sets were purchased, with just 1 million being high-definition. The problem has been the high cost of the sets and the lack of content. In the past, many cable companies were unwilling to invest the money and bandwidth necessary to offer HDTV. Broadcasting high-definition signals uses more bits of data and can crowd the cable system. Using so much bandwidth on a limited amount of programming for such a small audience hasn't made economic sense. But that is changing said Dan Novak, vice president of programming and public affairs for Cox's San Diego operations. Television set prices are falling, programming is increasing and more cable companies are offering the service. "Clearly, there is finally a break in the dam with HDTV," he said. Cox already offers high-definition service in Phoenix and Las Vegas and plans to offer it in Fairfax County, Va., in the near future. Other cable companies are also beginning to offer the service, including Comcast, the No. 3 cable provider, and Charter Communications. Last month, Time Warner Cable began offering HDTV service for its San Diego customers. Its high-definition channels include HBO, Showtime and local PBS programming. Satellite providers such as DirecTV have been offering limited high-definition service for some time as well. Related story:
• Overture snags $15 million Overture Networks has closed $15 million in second round financing. The company, which develops multi-service product that enable carriers to develop voice and data services over metro Ethernet/IP networks, will use the funds to expand support of its service provider customers. The round was led by Morgenthaler Ventures. Armada Ventures and Intersouth Partners also contributed to the round. Overture has named Morgenthaler's Krish Prabhu and Armada's Harry Marshall to its board of directors. • China Network Systems taps Convergys Convergys Corp. will supply billing and customer management support to China Network Systems. CNS will license Convergys' Wizard system to support and manage its interactive television and call center services in Taiwan. Financial terms were not disclosed. • Nortel helps build rural high-speed data service Syringa Networks has turned to Nortel Networks to help it build a broadband network capable of delivering high-speed Internet access to rural subscribers in Idaho and Wyoming. Syringa, a consortium of 12 independent service providers in rural Idaho, will use Nortel's Passport multiservice switches.
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