* ACA: Mediacom-Sinclair accord is a band-aid
Mediacom and Sinclair may have reached an agreement (see story), but that in no way means that the retransmission problem between cable companies and content providers is anywhere near solved. American Cable Association President and CEO Matthew Polka said, “Make no mistake – Sinclair held hostage the free public spectrum granted to it by the American taxpayer through Congress, and then made the consumers served by Mediacom pay for it through loss of signals during the past month, and now for the right to receive that signal.”
If anything, the Mediacom-Sinclair deal “is a further indication of why Congress needs to reform these rules for the benefit of consumers,” Polka said.
* Verizon Wireless spreads EV-DO Rev. A
Verizon Wireless has fired up EV-DO Revision A service in a variety of markets across the country, including many cities in Rhode Island; in Fresno, Calif.; in the San Francisco Bay area; in parts of New Mexico; in Indianapolis, Ind.; and in Fort Wayne and Dallas, Texas. EV-DO Rev. A offers average download speeds of 450 to 800 kbps, and average upload speeds of 300 to 400 kbps.
* O1 delivers hosted VoIP using Acme Packet gear
Acme Packet said O1 Communications has deployed its Net-Net session border controllers (SBCs) to support multiple applications to small- and medium-sized enterprises throughout the West Coast and to wholesale service providers worldwide. The Net-Net SBCs provide the secure and seamless interconnection of IP networks necessary for the delivery of high-quality IP Centrex, business trunking and PSTN termination services.