• Massillon Cable opts for Moto’s I-CMTS
By Brian Santo
Massillon Cable TV (MCTV) has deployed Motorola’s integrated cable modem termination system (I-CMTS) and decoupled TX32 downstream module to deliver Internet access and advanced services.
Massillon joins Virgin Media as a buyer of Motorola’s I-CMTS solution. I-CMTS decouples upstream and downstream modules, enabling operators to add capacity in either direction as needed.
Massillon Cable financial controller David Hoffer said, “We chose the Motorola I-CMTS solution with decoupled downstream cards because it offered a way to simply and economically deploy DOCSIS 3.0-based services in a way that better suits our rollout strategy.”
• Disney CEO: Hulu could charge for content
By The Associated Press
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) – Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger said Wednesday the Hulu online video streaming site that it now co-owns could one day charge for its content instead of just offering free streams and selling advertising. “There’s plenty of room for people to spend money on things they’re doing online,” Iger told a technology conference put on by Fortune magazine.
He cited statistics that showed how much people are willing to pay for media content: $5 an hour to watch movies; 75 cents an hour to read books, magazines and newspapers; and 25 cents for every hour of Internet use.
“We have ample evidence, both in traditional media and in new media, that people are willing to pay for quality, they’re willing to pay for choice, they’re willing to pay for convenience,” Iger said. “It’s possible that Hulu will look at monetizing, as well. It may be not just selling ads.”
Disney took just over a 25 percent equity stake in the Hulu joint venture in April, joining its founders, NBC Universal and News Corp., and agreed to provide TV shows and movies to the site. Iger added that Disney was working on a Disney-branded site that would make available movies, TV shows and games to consumers who pay for a subscription, but wouldn’t reveal details.
• Remote Wash. community to get phone service
By The Associated Press
YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) – One of the most remote communities in the lower 48 states is finally set to get phone service. The National Park Service is allowing a small telephone company to use public land to bring service to Stehekin, about 100 miles northeast of Seattle in the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area.
Stehekin has about 80 year-round residents and is reachable only by boat, float plane or a several-day hike through the wilderness. The phone company, WeavTel, has been pursuing a chance to install telephone service there for years, despite opposition from some residents who don’t want it. A few residents own satellite phones.
The Park Service announced Thursday it is issuing a permit to let WeavTel install and operate a wireless system. If the system is ineffective, the agency will issue a permit to allow the burial of fiber-optic cable on public lands.
• Verimatrix guards INS’s IPTV wholesale network
By Mike Robuck
Iowa Network Services has deployed Verimatrix’s platform to protect its IPTV wholesale network, which is a combination of central and local linear content provisioning. Iowa Network Services (INS), which represents a network of independent telephone companies that provide telecommunications services to rural Iowans, is currently using Verimatrix’s Video Content Authority System (VCAS) via its Digital Entertainment Television platform for nine local operators and more than 25,000 set-top boxes across Iowa.
“Verimatrix has demonstrated its commitment to the IPTV wholesale and managed service market with some unique capabilities in their security architecture,” said Dennis Pearson, executive manager of video at INS. “Our IPTV system operators are very happy with the sophisticated options for local subscriber and content management models, as well as choice in infrastructure equipment, that VCAS for IPTV offers.”
INS has been offering IPTV products since 2002, including a centralized middleware platform, and also supports independent telephone companies in having the flexibility to select their own middleware and set-top box equipment that is compatible with Verimatrix’s content security.
