Ericsson: Tandberg Is Key to IPTV

Ray Le Maistre (3.9.07)
http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=119124&site=cdn


Ericsson is looking to purchase Tandberg Television and secure a hold in the IPTV market.

The successful acquisition of Tandberg Television would help Ericsson play catchup with some of its main telco TV rivals in terms of technology, customers, and deployment experience, says one of the executives behind the bid for the encoding systems specialist.

In addition to the high-capacity video encoding and compression systems for which it is best known, Tandberg TV also has important applications-focused technology, such as headend-based advert insertion capabilities.

Those capabilities would significantly bump up Ericsson's portfolio in terms of video-specific technology, integration experience, and reference customers, areas where Ericsson has some catching up to do.

Ericsson has also been working with its mobile handset partner, Sony Corp. , to develop IPTV user interfaces that "have the same look and feel as the Sony Playstation in terms of the look and feel for navigation. We're going to do a lot of customer research to find out exactly what consumers want."

VoIP strives to co-exist with alarm systems

Joan Engebretson (3.5.07)

Leading alarm installing companies - ADT and Brinks Security Systems - have started making arrangements with VoIP providers to solve incompatibility issues.

Current alarm systems do not work with VoIP services, forcing customers to choose one or the other. This is more evidence that companies and legislation are working to meet the demand for diverse broadband services.

About 25 million alarm systems have been installed nationwide, according to Gordon Hope, general manager of Alarmnet, a unit of security manufacturer Honeywell. Comcast, which uses VoIP for the Digital Voice service that the company offers over its cable network infrastructure, estimates that 25% of Digital Voice customers have alarm systems. Potential incompatibilities between VoIP and alarm systems are fourfold.

Issues that need addressing are: the results of a power outage, home wiring often needs updating, customer service conflicts, and network stability.

To date, ADT’s and Brinks’s acceptance of VoIP seems to be the exception, rather than the rule within the alarm industry. The NBFAA it still seeking a legislative solution, and John Chwat, NBFAA director of government relations, expects to get several provisions written into any telecom bill proposed this year. Some of these provisions—including a requirement that VoIP providers contact customers’ alarm companies if VOIP is installed--simply codify what many providers already are already doing. But another requirement—to provide 24-hour battery backup—could add substantially to the cost of VoIP service. Today, even VoIP providers that offer battery backup typically only provide it for a few hours.

Verizon expands 50-Meg footprint

Brain Santo (2.27.07)
http://www.cedmagazine.com/article/CA6419926.html

Verizon expands 50 Mbps in 6 of its 16 state FiOS coverage.

The six states where Verizon's 50 Mbps tier is now available are Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island. Other FiOS markets will get the tier this year.

The mid-tier maximum connection rates in those six markets was increased from 15 Mbps downstream and 2 Mbps upstream to 20 Mbps down and 5 Mbps up, while the top-tier service was increased from maximums of 30 Mbps down and 5 Mbps up to 50 Mbps down and 5 Mbps up.

Verizon said that more than 6 million homes and businesses in parts of 16 states are now passed by its fiber network, but it declined to say how many of those could subscribe to the 50 Mbps tier. The TV franchise agreements Verizon has struck in the Tampa area cover only a few thousand households.

IPTV Market to Surge in Coming Years

Telecommunications Industry News (2.18.07)
http://www.teleclick.ca/2007/02/iptv-market-to-surge-in-coming-years/

Interesting facts on the predicted use and distribution of IPTV, and further shows the impending bandwith crunch.

The number of households using IPTV worldwide will grow to more than 80 million in 2011, from just 6 million at the end of 2006, according to a Strategy Analytics report, entitled “Global IPTV Forecast: Homes Users, and Subscribers.”

IPTV revenue, however, will see considerably less growth over the same five year period, as many customers are given the service as a free perk with their broadband internet access. The number of paying IPTV customers in 2011 will only be around 40.9 million, the research firm predicts.

“The jury is still out on how much consumers are willing to pay telcos for IPTV,” commented Strategy Analytics vice president and principal analyst, David Mercer. “Most telcos will likely offer customers a mix of free, subscription and pay-as-you-go programming models.”

Spending Wave Buoys Makers of Network Gear

Bobby White (2.14.07)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117142538050108158.html?mod=technology_main_whats_news

New Web Services Spur Phone Firms to Invest In Increasing Capacity

Shows increased investment in not only increasing bandwidth capacity, but in alternative solutions to fix the seemingly never-ending demand for broadband. This article also supplies numbers about large telco investment in these technologies.

Companies from Australia's Telstra Corp. to AT&T Inc. are buying up new gear to upgrade the "plumbing" that carries voice and data traffic around the globe.

In recent weeks, Cisco Systems Inc. and Juniper Networks Inc. have posted annual sales growth of nearly 50%, among their strongest performances in years.

The good times look likely to continue for at least a while. Overall, North American telecom companies are projected to spend $70 billion on new infrastructure this year. While that's down from the $110 billion they shelled out during the boom year of 2000, it's up 67% from their 2003 total, according to industry tracker Infonetics Research.

World-wide, spending on new telecom infrastructure is expected to rise to $240 billion in 2008, up 19% from 2005. Moreover, a greater proportion of that spending is expected to be plowed into accommodating capacity-hogging Internet traffic like video

The new spending telecom providers have earmarked for boosting capacity accounts for a relatively small slice of their capital budgets. But it has provided a crucial boost to Silicon Valley networking companies like Redback. In 2003, Redback, San Jose, Calif., filed for bankruptcy protection. Then, in 2004, Redback introduced a new product called the Smartedge router, a device that helps deliver phone, Internet video and other services through a single "pipe."

Redback's Smartedge router was among the first of the new-style gear. It consolidated functions that control video services and customer management into one box. Juniper, among others, is set to roll out a similar device in coming months. BellSouth network officials who now work for AT&T say they haven't used the Smartedge router to prioritize data traffic, but instead for other capacity-increasing functions.

Internet Technology

Carol Wilson (2.8.07)
http://telephonyonline.com/broadband/finance/qwest_earnings_iptv_020807/

Another take on Qwest's financial standing and IPTV investment.

The year 2006 was a milestone for Qwest Communications, as the company was able to post its first full year of earnings per share and net income in each of the four quarters, based largely on strong sales of data and Internet services.

Although they aren't agressively seeking out a video network, they are investing in their network. Qwest Chairman and CEO Richard Notebaert told financial analysts that “our facilities, our cable does not require a complete change-out in the last mile. ... We will follow a path where we will continue to upgrade the speeds and you have seen the investment we have made. Currently over 25% of our customers can get 7 Meg. We will continue to run fiber to the node, to the RT [remote terminal]. We are investing in increasing speeds and bandwidth. We aren’t following anybody when it comes to fiber-to-the-node. The RFPs, which were somehow made public, are part of the continuing effort to find if we can get a lower cost on the purchase of that fiber which we are and have been laying.”

“On IPTV, we are watching, we are learning, we are letting other people work the issue and we will benefit from their investment in future technology,” he said. “We believe that with time shift, that you can do on video and with the fact you can get content on demand – if you watch ’24,’, you can pull it down the next day, that’s all part of this.”

Qwest Treads Slowly in Fiber Rollout

Roger Cheng (2.8.07)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117090418422001834.html

Qwest is cautious to enter fiber market, allowing AT&T and Verizon to set the course. Many believe Qwest doesn't have the financial stability to make the upgrades necessary to be competitive against U-Verse and Fios.

Depending on development area, Qwest's slower adoption of fiber will effect choices of service providers for developers. This also shows the increased spending on fiber for faster and greater content to meet and exceed future demand.

AT&T and Verizon have poured billions of dollars into upgrading their systems to fiber. Verizon is spending $18 billion to connect many of its homes to the fiber-optic network. The company hopes to make FiOS TV service available to 18 million homes out of the 33 million homes in its landline operating area by the end of 2010.

AT&T is spending $4.6 billion to upgrade parts of its network with fiber-optic lines while using software to increase the speed of its network, enabling an Internet TV service called U-Verse. It hopes to make U-Verse available in at least 19 million homes by the end of next year.

Dan Yost, who runs product development and marketing for Qwest, said the company is working to replace copper lines with fiber ones in some markets, though he acknowledged the deployment was "not that extensive" in Qwest's 14-state operating territory.

Qwest has recently sold off assets giving them more financial flexibility to potentially put more dollars toward fiber investment; however for the time being they will still depend on DirecTV for television services and Sprint Nextel for wireless phone services. Most would agree that the push for more bandwidth will force Qwest to invest in upgrades regardless of their financial standing sooner than later.

Big MSOs Embrace the Evolving Set-Top

By Alan Breznick (2.7.07)
http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=116644

Three of the nation's largest MSOs are introducing set-top boxes which will open the way for more IP-enabled services in the home.

Docsis Set-to Gateway (DSG) set-tops can act as residential gateways, VOIP terminals, and other IP-enabled devices, supporting such new convergence services as video email and caller ID on the TV screen. They also can be used for unicasting, or delivering a unique video stream to each home and even set-top.

Richard Rioboli, VP of product platform engineering for Comcast, said the MSO's embrace of DSG technology is part of the company's drive to standardize different configurations. Without such standardization it would be tough for the company to introduce new cable services and applications quickly on a national basis.

Time Warner, Comcast, and Cox are beginning to introduce OpenCable Application Platform (OCAP)-equipped set-top boxes and TV sets in select markets. The OCAP middleware stack enables cable operators to offer the same interactive and on-demand services throughout the country. Plus, interactive application developers can create a single piece of software to run their applications on many different cable systems.

Comcast executives plan lab trials to start this winter as well as live OCAP deployments in several undisclosed markets before the end of the year. Meanwhile, Cox has begun testing several interactive TV services in Gainesville. Plans call for expanding the OCAP trial to other Cox cable systems later this year. In those new markets, Samsung intends to try out OCAP-based HD set-top boxes as well.

Rep. Markey Laments State

By Andrew Noyes (2.7.07)
http://njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-ZCQL1170792302989.html

In the next few years, House Energy and Commerce Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee Chairman Edward Markey wants his subcommittee to "fashion together a policy blueprint" that includes broadband that is affordable and fast, with an open architecture that supports Internet freedom.

The FCC counts as broadband any speed of more than 200 kilobits per second, or one-fifth of one megabit per second, he said. Japanese homes can receive up to 100 megabits per second. In a number of other benchmarks, the United States also trails the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, Australia and Canada.

The agenda of Markey's panel in the 110th Congress "will be the unfinished business" that got stuck in previous legislative sessions, he said. The subcommittee will look at strengthening the e-rate program, which subsidizes Internet access in schools and libraries, and will discuss ways that all Americans can get broadband access.

Broadband video-to-TV trend seen roiling business models

By Kenneth Li (1.9.07)
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=

Technology unveiled at CES last week allows people to more easily access Internet and PC content via their TVs potentially driving demand for bandwidth to supply high definition streaming content as well as creating new potential business partnerships.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, electronics manufacturers from Sony Corp. to start-ups such as Sling Media unveiled a raft of new products to allow consumers to play Internet videos, or media files stored on PCs, directly on their TV screens.

"There are a lot of companies looking to bypass cable," said Bob Greene, executive vice president of Liberty Media Holding Corp.'s Starz Entertainment network.

Consumers are currently unwilling to pay more for a device that lets them view PC content on TV screens, according to a poll of 5,000 U.S. homes by Forrester Research. Moreover, the bandwidth constraints of current broadband services essentially rule out any downloading or streaming of high-definition programs.

Some big cable operators have conceded they need to craft a response to the growing trend in watching PC-based Internet videos on big screens, one media executive said. On a panel discussion, Chase Carey, chief executive of No.1 U.S. satellite TV provider DirecTV Group Inc., said he saw more opportunities than challenges. DirecTV is also in discussions with top online video sites YouTube and News Corp.'s MySpace to allow viewers to watch clips directly on TV screens.

J:COM to bond with 160 Mbps Internet service

By Jeff Baumgartner (1.5.07)
http://www.cedmagazine.com/article/CA6404675.html

J:COM, the largest cable MSO in Japan, will use pre-DOCSIS 3.0 channel bonding techniques to deliver a super-fast Internet service that caps downstream speeds at 160 Mbps, and upstream speeds at 10 Mbps.

The service, which carries the provisional brand of "J:COM.NET 160 Mbps," will be offered to individual homes and customers beginning in April 2007.

Fiber-Wired City Attracts Managed Services Businesses

By Geoff Daily (12.27.06)
http://www.killerapp.com/content/publish/article_275.shtml

Does municipal broadband really make a difference to local business? And do higher network speeds have proportionally higher impacts? The evidence is still anecdotal, but it’s mounting. This is one of those anecdotes.


The Jackson Energy Authority, a publicly owned utility, recently built a fiber-to-the-premises system in its home town of Jackson, Tennessee and surrounding areas, and opened the system to service providers who sell telephone, Internet access and cable television to local residents and businesses.

And the dynamic bandwidth allocation on the fiber network gives companies the tools they need to support continued growth.

With the capacious bandwidth of fiber, companies like Xpert Systems Integration are free to dream up new ways to build their businesses. Beck says he’s considering several possible new services: “We’re looking at … moving further into the Microsoft direction with applications like Exchange 2007, as well as exploring some VOIP add-ons. We’re also considering offering document management services where companies can save images to the network from copy machines. And we’re investigating things like video for surveillance.”

YouTube generation needs more broadband

Robert Mullins, IDG News Service (12.27.06)

http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;727534747

The increasing popularity of high bandwidth sites means a larger push for higher quality high speed broadband access.


Technology industry experts meeting in Silicon Valley recently said broadband Internet access in the U.S. needs to improve for the "YouTube generation" to really flourish.

An improved broadband network will better serve users of sites such as YouTube.com, at which millions of videos from the general public are shared online. YouTube was acquired earlier this year by Google, and Verizon Wireless announced in November plans to offer YouTube videos over its wireless phone network.

Although the U.S. broadband penetration rate topped 75 percent of households in September and is expected to reach 80 percent by the end of 2006, according to WebSiteOptimization.com, China is expected to surpass the U.S. as its broadband base grows rapidly. But more importantly, says Mossberg, U.S. broadband networks are generally slower than those in other countries. Faster connections will be needed to deliver full-motion video to portable devices. Services that deliver as little as 768 kilobits per second (Kbps) are considered broadband in the U.S., while services in Europe and elsewhere are much faster.

Panelists said 2007 will see more growth of on-demand content, such as music videos, television shows and movies, and more demand for easier connectivity between devices.

The growth of sites like YouTube is creating "massive amounts of content and there is going to be a continuing need to take and distribute that content. That will spur innovation of more consumer devices," said Chad Hurley, cofounder of YouTube.

The Internet accelerates while U.S. trails behind

Charles H. Giancarlo (12.14.06)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/14/EDGOULJ5TB1.DTL

US internet speeds continue to fall behind the rest of the world.

Household bandwidth demand continues to increase and is expected to reach approximately 1.1 terabits per month per household by 2010 in the United States. For comparison, 20 of these homes would generate more traffic than the entire Internet of 1995. However, the demand is not being met by increasing supply.

The United States now ranks 12th in the world in the total percentage of citizens that subscribe to broadband access, lagging behind such countries as Iceland, Korea, Sweden, Belgium and Canada. The trend line is even worse. The United States ranks 17th for the growth of these high-speed connections, outpaced by nearly all of our economic peers. Our broadband speeds don't measure up either. Korea's citizens, for example, have access to 50 megabits per second connections, making Internet services at typical U.S. speeds "broadband lite," at best.