With an argument that splits hairs with a fine razor, Cablevision Systems is suing Verizon, charging that its rival’s advertising claim that FiOS is “100 percent fiber,” is false. The suit states that Verizon, with its 100 percent fiber claim, “has not been truthful for nearly 10 years about FiOS.” The untruth, Cablevision says, lies […]
Altice buys control of Suddenlink
While everyone was distracted by what Charter Communications, Bright House Networks, and Time Warner Cable were doing, Altice swooped in from Europe to buy a majority interest in Suddenlink. Altice announced it will acquire 70 percent of the share capital in Suddenlink from BC Partners, CPP Investment Board, and Suddenlink management. Altice did not specify […]
Handful of MSOs offering Hulu directly
Mediacom Communications has cut deals to make both Netflix and Hulu directly available to its customers. Hulu entered similar deals with Armstrong, Atlantic Broadband, Mediacom Communications, Midcontinent Communications and WideOpenWest (WOW!). Last week, Cablevision was the first cable operator to go direct with Hulu (story here). The MSOs’ subscribers will still need to subscribe separately […]
This releases major upgrade for SwitchStream
This Technology has issued a major upgrade to its cloud-based SwitchStream Alternate Content Delivery System. Version 3.0 introduces several new features for MVPDs and programmers including Audit Central, a tool for event verification and audit reporting; Map View for zone creation and event execution mapping; and an Event Dashboard for monitoring event execution status and […]
Cable Pioneer Wendell Woody (1934-2015)
Cable Pioneer Wendell Woody has died at the age of 80. Woody began his career selling TV antennas and other equipment at Electronic Parts Company in Denver, where he eventually became general manager. He started selling equipment to Jerrold, which eventually hired him directly. Starting with Electronic Parts, Woody spent nearly a half century in […]
VeEX adds fiber connector analyzer
VeEX announced the general availability of V-Scope, a tool to analyze fiber connector end-faces. The fiber connection inspection utility uses auto focus image capture technology to evaluate fiber connections. Image capture can be accomplished with VeEX test sets, smartphones or tablets. The system relies on the company’s DI-1000 Digital FiberScope, a field portable Wi-Fi unit […]
Quickplay draws another $45M
Quickplay has attracted another $45 million ($57 million Canadian) in capital from a set of investors. The new infusion ups the amount of financing the company has attracted since it was founded in 2003 to $150 million. Participants in the latest round were equity owner Madison Dearborn Partners, financing partner Orix Ventures and Difference Capital […]
Startup claims to fix delays on wireless networks
Twin Prime, a startup that claims to be able to accelerate content delivery on the last mile of cellular networks, pulled out of stealth mode with a $9.5 million round of funding. The company is not claiming to solve the well-known latency problems on wireless networks. Instead, Twin Prime has developed a technique based on […]
Comcast trialing DOCSIS 3.1 modulation scheme
Not waiting for hardware based on new DOCSIS 3.1 silicon, Comcast has begun testing some of the basic technology in field trials in its networks. The company is using bespoke equipment to test a new modulation technology that promises to increase the carrying capacity of cable networks. Comcast vice president of access architecture Jorge Salinger […]
ACA to FCC: help us reduce rising program costs
The ACA has petitioned the FCC to make it easier for its members to collectively bargain with programmers, which the organization argues will help smaller operators maintain margins, in turn giving them greater latitude to extend and improve broadband services. The organization cited statistics that overall programming costs have risen at roughly a 10 percent […]