• Comcast sells of $2B worth of debt
By Traci Patterson
Comcast Corp. has sold off $2 billion worth of debt in a two-part sale, with pricing expected later today, reported Reuters (based on a market source familiar with the offering).
The sale comprises $1 billion in 10-year notes and $1 billion in 30-year bonds, and both are expected to yield 1.85 percentage points over U.S. Treasuries, Reuters said.
The joint lead managers on the sale are Citigroup Global Markets, Deutsche Bank Securities, Merrill Lynch and UBS.
• Dish adds HD locals in Va.
By Traci Patterson
Dish Network has added local high-definition (HD) programming in Norfolk, Portsmouth and Newport News, Va.
The satellite operator plans to reach its year-end goal of 100 local HD markets and 100 national HD channels. It currently offers local HD programming in 55 markets, reaching more than 64 percent of U.S. TV households.
In order to view HD programming, Dish customers can upgrade to a dishHD receiver, such as the ViP722 – a dual-tuner HD digital video recorder (DVR) that operates two televisions in separate rooms, one in HD and one in standard-definition (SD). The ViP722 can record up to 55 hours of HD and up to 350 hours of SD, and it allows customers to pause, rewind and fast-forward TV programming.
• Phoenix Broadband creates Power Agent co.
By Traci Patterson
Phoenix Broadband Technologies has created a separate company – entitled Power Agent Systems (Power Agent) – for the sale and marketing of Phoenix’s Power Agent line of battery monitoring systems. Power Agent will be led by cable industry veteran Minturn S. Osborne, who most recently managed the Comcast account for RealNetworks.
Under the terms of the agreement, both companies will work together to provide solutions to cable and wireless companies with an expanded suite of products and services to improve network power assurance, the company said.
Current customers of the Power Agent Battery Monitoring System are cable and wireless operators, but the company is looking to extend its customer base beyond the cable and wireless industries, to markets including data centers, healthcare, finance, transportation and government.
More Broadband Direct:
• Charter boosts broadband speeds in Ga.
• Comcast offers more HD choices, AnyRoom service in Ore., Wash.
• BigBand exceeds Q1 expectations, cuts 25 employees
• JDSU ups revenue, decreases loss in Q3
• OSS BroadNet intros HFC monitoring service in U.S.
• Verizon’s FiOS expands in N.Y., wins in Mass.
• Commerce Secretary Gutierrez to deliver Cable Show ’08 keynote
• ACA: Don’t let News Corp. out of DirecTV conditions
