• Qwest phone rates going down
By The Associated Press
HELENA, Mont. (AP) – Montana customers of Qwest Communications will see their telephone rates go down beginning May 1. The reductions were agreed to as the company sought to settle a complaint that it was receiving more than its allowable rate of return on its investment in the state. Ken Toole, now a member of the Public Service Commission, filed the complaint against the company in October 2006.
Under the settlement, most residential customers with basic phone service will see a decrease of $4.72 per month. The monthly reductions will range from at least $2 to as high as $10.47. Business customers will see reductions ranging from $3.94 to $12.41, with most getting a $6.66 decrease.
The settlement also calls for Denver-based Qwest to bring DSL service to an additional 27 Montana communities over the next three years.
• Blankom intros EQM100 for small ops
By Traci Patterson
Blankom USA, which provides turnkey headend solutions for cable operators, has introduced its EQM100 family of edge QAM modulators and DIX 200 remultiplexer. The EQM100 is a modular, cost-effective unit suitable for 8, 16 and 24 channels of 6 MHz QAM channels – so suitable for small- and medium-size operators.
“With this pair of new products, we can provide the smaller cable operator the same economies of scale that a large MSO enjoys,” said Gerhard Franz, president of Blankom USA. “Our customers can now easily move their services to IP without the need to abandon their existing local HFC networks, protecting their investment.”
Blankom will be showcasing its new edge QAM modulator at the American Cable Association’s (ACA) 16th Annual Summit in Washington, D.C., next week.
• Clearfield’s FieldSmart chosen by STC for FTTH rollout
By Traci Patterson
Clearfield’s FieldSmart platform of fiber management has been selected by Siren Telephone Co. (STC) for the operator’s fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) initiative in Siren, Wis.
As part of the citywide, 3,000-access line deployment, STC has selected Clearfield’s FieldSmart platform, featuring the FieldSmart Fiber Distribution System (FDS) in its central office. Clearfield FDS products include patch panels, interbay management panels and cable management troughs. Additionally, STC is using the Clearfield Fiber Scalability Center (FSC) in its outside plant network. FSC products include OSP cross-connect cabinets, Clearview patch and splice cassettes, and OSP fiber pigtails.
Earlier this month, Clearfield announced the availability of its new outside plant passive optical network (PON) cabinet – the FSC 1152-Port Cabinet – which it claims has the highest density in the industry (story here).
