• Verizon ups channels in Fla., wins franchises in Mass., Md.
By Traci Patterson
Verizon has launched 77 new channels, including 57 high-definition (HD) channels, on its FiOS TV service in Florida. FiOS TV customers in the area now have more than 780 HD choices available at any time, with 88 HD channels and more than 700 HD video-on-demand (VOD) titles offered each month.
And residents of Hudson, Mass., will soon have access to Verizon’s FiOS TV service, thanks to a newly approved agreement authorizing the telco to offer its video service in the community. The vote makes 82 the total number of Massachusetts communities where Verizon’s FiOS TV is, or will soon be, available.
Additionally, residents of Bel Air, Md., will also soon have access to FiOS TV, thanks to a unanimous vote by the Town of Bel Air Commissioners authorizing Verizon to offer its fiber-optic-powered video service. In Maryland, Verizon currently offers FiOS Internet and FiOS TV services to dozens of communities in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. The company plans to begin offering FiOS Internet and FiOS TV in parts of Bel Air later this month.
• Vecima cuts deal with U.S. MSO for new product
By Traci Patterson
Vecima Networks announced that it has signed a multi-year engineering, supply and maintenance contract with an unnamed U.S.-based cable MSO for a new cable network product that is designed to reclaim analog bandwidth all the way to the outer edge of the network.
The product facilitates the MSO’s transition to all-digital operation across its entire network, and it allows the operator to continue to provide both high-quality digital services and basic analog cable TV services to subscribers.
According to Vecima, the engineering portion of the contract is valued at $2 million to $3 million.
• Bandwidth.com deploys Ditech’s PVP solution
By Traci Patterson
Bandwidth.com has purchased and installed Ditech Networks’ Packet Voice Processor (PVP) solution to support Web 2.0 and VoIP applications. Bandwidth.com is using PVP to bridge the voice quality gap between Web 2.0 and the public switched telephony network (PSTN), the company said.
According to Bandwidth.com, transporting voice across multiple IP and PSTN networks can create degradation in voice quality, causing subscriber dissatisfaction and slowing the adoption of Internet voice applications that rely on voice.
So Bandwidth.com has deployed PVP with two of Ditech’s voice quality applications: Experience Intelligence (EXi) and Voice Quality Assurance (VQA). EXi non-intrusively measures speech quality in real time, on every call. VQA non-intrusively and automatically detects and eliminates problems that degrade voice quality. The application mitigates Web- and network-induced impairments, impairments from the caller’s environment and impairments from the caller’s device – in real-time, on both ends of the call.
More Broadband Direct:
• ActiveVideo provisions Web content, interactivity to TWC Oceanic
• Comcast enticing broadcast homes to cable
• Verizon one step closer to D.C. franchise agreement
• Imake signs on to support CableLabs 2.0
• Portland to claim Metro-Fi equipment
• SureWest begins FTTH service in K.C.
• Integra5 to take part in Cable Center showcase
• T-Mobile, M2Z go another round in AWS debate
• Tiscali to base IPTV service on Cisco
• Broadcom keeps hammering on Qualcomm
• Broadband Briefs for 10/08/08
