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Wednesday, October 30, 2002 |
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• Cox, Motorola launch retail set-top program • Verizon expands bundled services offering • Time Warner VOD surfs into San Diego • Broadband providers prep for multiplayer Xbox service • Profit takers cash in on Nortel's hot streak
Cox, Motorola launch retail set-top
program
Taking a step closer toward the promise of retail-ready digital cable boxes, Cox Communications said two consumer electronics dealers in the Hampton Roads, Va. area are making Motorola Broadband’s new DCP501 Home Theater System available in their retail showrooms. The DCP501 features a DVD/CD/MP3 player, a digital audio/video receiver and a digital receiver that can tune digital cable channels on the local Cox system. Motorola introduced the box at the 2002 Consumer Electronics show in January. The DCP501 carries a manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) of $899 per unit, according to CED’s most recent figures. Motorola said the two CE dealers - Audio Connection Inc. in Chesapeake and Domes Audio Video Environments in Virginia Beach - are the first to retail the DCP501. It isn’t the first time, though, that Cox has made digital cable boxes available via retail. Set-top maker Scientific-Atlanta Inc. disclosed recently that the operator is selling the high-definition-television-capable Explorer 3100HD set-top to customers in Phoenix, Ariz. for about $499 per unit. The Motorola and S-A boxes that Cox is making available at retail feature embedded (and proprietary) conditional access (CA) and encryption systems. Future OpenCable-based set-top boxes and television sets will separate out those elements through point-of-deployment (POD) cards and POD-host interfaces. In addition to being retail-ready, those devices theoretically will be as portable as DBS receivers are today, allowing consumers to use the equipment in other OpenCable-compliant cable systems. As an interim step, the National Cable & Telecommunications
Association (NCTA) has encouraged cable operators to prime the
retail pump with legacy, proprietary digital cable set-tops. That
plan, introduced by the NCTA last fall, calls for cable operators
to sell proprietary boxes through retail and offer to buy them
back on a depreciated basis if, for example, a customer moves
to an area where the cable system might not be compatible with
the box. Related story:
Verizon expands bundled services offering Verizon Communications is trying to tempt customers with lower bills if they agree to subscribe to more services, including high-speed Internet access. The communications company is rolling out its bundled service package, dubbed Veriations, in six new states, including Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Oregon, Texas and Washington. Subscribers to Veriations with DSL will receive a $15 a month discount off the $49.95 price for Verizon Online DSL. The discount remains in effect for customers who purchase their local, regional toll and long-distance services from Verizon. For those who do not qualify for high-speed Internet access, Verizon also is rolling out Veriations with Dial-up. The saving for the dial-up plan equates to $2.95 a month. The Local Package, which is part of the Veriations bundled service pack, includes local calling up and up to 13 calling services such as caller ID and call waiting. Verizon previously rolled out Veriations with DSL and Veriations with Dial-up service packages in New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine and New Jersey. In August, the company introduced Veriations All in New York and Massachusetts. The Veriations All bundled plan includes unlimited DSL Internet access from Verizon Online; unlimited night and weekend minutes, 300 anytime nationwide calling minutes and 1,000 mobile-to-mobile minutes from Verizon Wireless; unlimited direct-dialed domestic calling nights and weekends and 300 anytime minutes of direct dialed nationwide domestic calling from Verizon Long Distance; and unlimited local and regional toll calling from Verizon. Although pricing varies depending on the state, on average customers pay between $135 and $145 a month for the all-inclusive service pack. Related stories:
Time Warner VOD surfs into San Diego Time Warner Cable is rolling out a smattering of video-on-demand services in San Diego with the help of VOD equipment vendor Concurrent Computer Corp. Using Concurrent's MediaHawk 3000 VOD system, TWC's 200,000 customers in San Diego and Coronado, Calif. will have access to movies-on-demand (MOD), subscription VOD, and free-on-demand (FOD). TWC's MOD service is fueled by a partnership with iN Demand, which has content deals with Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, MGM, Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp., Warner Bros. and The Walt Disney Co. Content from HBO, Cinemax, Showtime and The Movie Channel make up TWC's offering in the SVOD space, while its FOD programming offers content from various networks, including Home & Garden, Comedy Central, iControl Music Videos, Food Network and CNN Showcase. TWC tapped Concurrent because its system is scalable and based on open standards, according to company executives. Concurrent considers itself a leader in the VOD space with 48 market deployment commitments. In total these markets serve 3.4 million digital cable subscribers in North America. Related stories:
Less than 18 months after coming together to define a standards-based Linux environment for the digital set-top box market, the TV Linux Alliance has released its first specification. The initial specification, version 0.8, provides developers with basic functionality for tuner level and device definitions, and standardized application programming interface functions for those devices, according to the alliance. The spec also is designed to simplify the implementation of TV middleware and device drivers for the Linux open-source operating environment. TV Linux Alliance was formed in June 2001 to create an initial, unified Linux environment for the digital set-top box market. Founding members include Broadcom, Conexant, Liberate, nCUBE, Concurrent, Motorola, OpenTV, Pace Micro Technology, WorldGate and others. The Alliance also is seeking support from the cable, satellite and telecommunications industries. New members will participate in the review process for future specification releases, which will define standard APIs for additional digital media functionality. Membership applications are available at www.tvlinuxalliance.com. Related stories:
ADC has declared victory in its patent infringement suit against PCI Technologies. ADC filed suit against PCI Technologies alleging that certain PCI MAXNET modules infringe on U.S. patent No. 6,289,210 B1, which relates to “an improved RF circuit module.” ADC makes and sells those modules under the RFWorx brand. The modules are designed to help cable operators deliver traditional video services as well as “future targeted services” over the same network via headend signal balancing techniques. ADC was looking to enforce a patent related to its radio frequency modules used in its RFWorx platform. As part of the resolution to the case, PCI has agreed to pay ADC an undisclosed sum and discontinue its MAXNET line of RF modules, as they were designed when ADC filed the suit. ADC plunks down a great deal of R&D dollars to develop new products for cable, wireline and wireless carriers, according to ADC Chairman and CEO Rick Roscitt. "This suit sends a clear message to our competition, customers and shareholders that the cable network business is very important to ADC's future, and that ADC will protect its research and development dollars by enforcing its patents," he said in a prepared statement. Although ADC is satisfied with the outcome of this case, it has reserved the right to pursue future infringement cases against PCI relating to other ADC patents. Related story:
Before airline passengers go up, up and away on their next business trip, T-Mobile will be providing passengers on American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines high-speed wireless Internet access. Over the next year, T-Mobile plans to add its Wi-Fi HotSpot service to roughly 100 of the airlines' most frequented clubs and lounges. A Wi-Fi-based local area network enables customers to check e-mail, surf the Web, watch streaming video and download multimedia presentations that are located within a radius of roughly 300 feet from a Wi-Fi device. Plans are in the works to extend the offering to the airlines' gates, but before that can move forward, airports must give their approval. T-Mobile is no stranger to the airport scene. The company already offers its service in more than 40 airport locations. The airline deal targets the business traveler, a growing segment of the population. According to the Yankee Group 2002 Corporate Wireless Survey, there are roughly 40 million mobile professionals in the United States. T-Mobile offers a variety of service plans, from pay-as-you-go for as little as $2.99 to unlimited national plans for $49.99 a month. T-Mobile says it has access points that serve more than 1,800 locations in the United States, including Starbucks, Borders Bookstores and American Airlines' Admiral Clubs. The company is forecasting it will expand its service to more than 2,000 locations by the end of the year. Related stories:
Broadband providers prep for
A total of 13 US and Canadian broadband service providers are the first to publicly support the “Xbox Compatible” program, an initiative designed to make it easy for gamers to experience the forthcoming multiplayer Xbox Live service. The current list of North American broadband service providers that will support Xbox Compatible include Bell Canada, BellSouth Corp., Charter Communications Inc., Comcast Corp., Cox Communications Inc., EarthLink Inc., MSN, Qwest Communications, Rogers Cable Inc., SBC Communications Inc., TELUS Corp., Time Warner Cable’s Road Runner service and Verizon Communications. The broadband-only Xbox Live service, set to launch Nov. 15, will allow Xbox gamers to play against each other, talk back and forth via a new Xbox Communicator headset and download new content to the console. The Xbox Compatible service plans will “help ensure that playing Xbox Live games across these plans will be quick, simple and hassle-free,” said J. Allard, general manager of the Xbox platform, in a press release. Microsoft is making a huge bet that Xbox Live will give it a competitive edge against gaming console rivals Nintendo GameCube and Sony, which shipped its 40 millionth PlayStation 2 on Sept. 19, according to CED sister company In-Stat/MDR. Related stories:
Profit takers cash in on Nortel's hot streak
Nortel Networks stock plunged 13 percent yesterday as traders sold to take profits after a rally that had seen the battered shares almost triple in price from this month's historic lows. Nortel closed down 25 cents at $1.69 with more than 62 million shares traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The stock had traded as high as $2.00 and closed at $1.94 on Monday, after eight consecutive days of gains had added $1.09 to the stock's price since Oct. 16. Nortel's darkest hour came on Oct. 10, when it traded as low as 67 cents and closed at 69 cents. Yesterday's decline was "pure and simple profit-taking," said Duncan Stewart, technology portfolio manager at Tera Capital. The battered telecom equipment maker rolled out a new marketing and technology strategy yesterday, aiming to persuade corporations and governments to shift their telephone systems to the Internet. However, Stewart said stock markets currently are responding
only to financial news and ignoring product announcements and
new strategies. Related stories:
• Alcatel lands contract in Norway NextGenTel has selected Alcatel to supply a managed portfolio of high-speed access equipment to enable the rollout of broadband services to Norwegian residential and corporate users. Specifically, NextGenTel will deploy Alcatel's 7300 Advanced Services Manager for both ADSL and SDSL services. Financial terms were not disclosed. • Telefonica de Espana taps Riverstone Riverstone Networks Inc. will supply its RS family of routers to assist Telefonica de Espana in completing Spain's largest broadband network rollout. The incumbent provider will deploy Riverstone's RS 38000 and RS 8600 metro routers. • Artel names channel partner Harbin Dongyan Electronics Co. Ltd. has been named as an Artel Video Systems channel partner. The agreement calls for Harbin to provide sales and service support of Artel's line of video transport products in the Chinese provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning.
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