* Comcast names Victor as SVP of strategic, financial planning
By Traci Patterson
Comcast Corp. has named Robert S. Victor as the company’s SVP of strategic and financial planning, effective Jan. 7. Victor will report to Michael J. Angelakis, Comcast’s CFO.
Victor will join Comcast from The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he started his career in 1988. He currently serves as a partner and managing director in BCG’s Washington, D.C., office and heads the firm’s technology, media and telecommunications practice on the East Coast.
* Verizon brings FiOS TV to Chesapeake, Va.
By Traci Patterson
Verizon has extended its FiOS TV service into parts of Chesapeake, Va., as the telco introduces its fiber optic network in the state. Last week, Verizon launched the video service in Oregon, bringing the total number of states that FiOS TV is offered in to 13.
* Clearwire taps into 50th market
By Mike Robuck
Clearwire Corp. announced today that it has reached its 50th worldwide market with a deployment in Rochester, N.Y. Rochester is Clearwire’s second market in New York, preceded by Syracuse. Clearwire is currently deployed in 46 U.S. markets and four European markets.
“We’re very excited to enter the Rochester market with our fast Internet service that will provide area business and residents the freedom to travel wirelessly across the city,” said Lynette Sharp, regional VP for Clearwire in Rochester, in a statement.
* Atheros adds pair of 802.11n Wi-Fi chips for gateways
By Brian Santo
Atheros Communications announced two single-chip 802.11n Wi-Fi chips developed expressly for the carrier gateway market. One is a dual-band version operating at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz; the other is a single-band chip operating at 2.4 GHz.
The chips are the second implementations of Atheros’ new single-chip 11n design, which follows last month’s introduction of the company’s half-mini card for PCI Express (PCIe), a compact 802.11n solution for PCs. Both will be available for sampling in January.
* Wi-Fi Alliance promotes Figueroa to exec. director
By Traci Patterson
The Wi-Fi Alliance has named Edgar Figueroa as the organization’s new executive director. For the past several years, Figueroa has led the operations for the alliance’s certification program – Wi-Fi Certified. He was instrumental in establishing the alliance’s headquarters in Austin, Texas, and the research and development lab in Santa Clara, Calif. He succeeds Frank Hanzlik, the Wi-Fi Alliance’s managing director from 2004-07.
“There are more than 350 million Wi-Fi users, and the proliferation continues with its wide acceptance in an increasing variety of consumer electronics and with the advent of 802.11n technology,” said Figueroa. “I look forward to working with the Wi-Fi Alliance and its members as we enter a new phase of our growth, in new markets and in new geographies.”
* Cisco’s WebEx, Jamcracker offering WebEx via JSDN
By Traci Patterson
Cisco’s WebEx and Jamcracker have teamed up to give service providers the ability to offer WebEx WebOffice via the Jamcracker Services Delivery Network (JSDN) – which enables telcos, Internet service providers (ISPs), value-added resellers (VARs) and SaaS (Software as a Service) vendors to deliver on-demand services to businesses and consumers.
WebEx WebOffice offers hosted e-mail, access to Web meetings, document sharing, group calendaring, task management, threaded discussions and a database with multiple templates.
