* Comcast names White regional SVP for northern California
By Mike Robuck
Comcast has named Steve White as its regional SVP for northern California. White will report to Brad Dusto, president of Comcast’s West Division, and he will oversee all aspects of Comcast’s triple-play operations in both the Bay Area and Central California – which serves about 2.5 million customers and manages about 7,500 employees.
White joins northern California from Comcast’s Southern Division, where he most recently served as the regional SVP. White began his new role on Dec. 10 and will be based in the company’s San Ramon office.
* Gemstar-TV Guide, Snapstream sign patent license agreement
By Mike Robuck
Gemstar-TV Guide and Snapstream Media have signed a patent license agreement.
The two companies did not provide a lot of details, but the multi-year agreement includes patent license rights for Snapstream’s Beyond TV offerings, as well as license rights for Snapstream in support of the interactive program guides (IPGs) deployed on PCs. Snapstream Media is best known for its Beyond TV PC DVR.
Financial terms of the agreement were not available.
* Cable Hope Fund donates $20K for Calif. wildfire victims
By Traci Patterson
The Cable Hope Fund has donated $20,000 to the San Diego Food Bank and Santa Clarita Valley Disaster Coalition to aid those affected by the wildfires in southern California last fall. The donations were made possible by contributions from cable industry companies, organizations and individuals.
The Cable Hope Fund, administered by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), was established after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Fund’s mission is to assist with relief efforts for individuals and families affected by natural disasters, with particular emphasis on cable employees, and to assist with the longer-term rebuilding of the communities affected, the fund said.
* JDSU adds low-cost ADP chip
By Brian Santo
JDSU is shipping an avalanche photo detector (APD) chip designed for gigabit passive optical networks (GPONs). The APD chip provides high functionality at a low cost, the company said, making it ideal for fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) deployments.
JDSU said it is currently developing packaged versions of the APD chip for the GPON space and other telecommunications markets.
* Narrowstep adds former Accenture exec to board
By Traci Patterson
Narrowstep Inc. has appointed 28-year telecom vet Jon Harrington to serve on its board of directors as the company focuses its sales and marketing efforts on larger enterprise customers, specifically telcos and broadcasters.
Harrington previously served as a managing partner of Accenture’s Communications & High Tech practice, where he directed a group of more than 50 communications, media/entertainment and high-tech companies in North America.
Narrowstep provides a solution for securely managing, distributing and commercializing video on the Internet in TV-like quality, and its platform supports more than 180 channels. According to the company, telcos and broadcasters require sophisticated tools and functionality to offer Internet video.
* Verizon’s FiOS TV service expands in Mass.
By Traci Patterson
Verizon will soon offer its FiOS TV service in Norfolk, Mass. – to approximately 2,700 more Massachusetts households – thanks to a newly-approved agreement authorizing the telco to provide its video service there. The agreement brings to 65 the total number of communities in the state where FiOS TV is, or will soon be, available.
More Broadband Direct:
• Rentrak signs up 8 MSOs for VOD measurement system
• TVS announces first customer for digital cable solution
• BendBroad band selects Amdocs for triple-play billing
• NDS rolls through second quarter
• Juniper unveils EX line of Ethernet switches
