AT&T said today it is turning on its LTE service in a dozen new markets “soon” as it works to catch up with larger rival Verizon Wireless, whose LTE network already covers large portions of the country. The latest round of launches includes top markets Staten Island in New York City, St. Louis, Cleveland and […]
Telecommunications
FCC demands more info on Verizon, cable marketing deal
Verizon Wireless and four cable companies are being asked to provide more information to the FCC about a marketing and cross-selling agreement they signed at the same time they forged a multi-billion-dollar spectrum deal. Verizon and its cable partners have insisted the transactions are separate and should not be combined in the FCC’s review of […]
Mediacom’s Q4 revenues up; video subscribers down
Today, privately held Mediacom Communications released unaudited financial results for last year and the fourth quarter, which included an increase in revenues and a loss of 67,000 basic video subscribers. Mediacom’s fourth-quarter basic video subscribers went from 663,000 in the same quarter a year ago to 596,000 on Dec. 31. On the data front, Mediacom […]
Newtec demos 372 Mbps satellite broadband
Satellite-based broadband keeps getting better. Newtec recently demonstrated 372 Mbps bidirectional throughput and 313 Mbps unidirectional throughput to its newest modems. The demonstration was with an Intelsat 72 MHz Ku-band transponder, a 4.5 meter antenna, and modems incorporating Newtec’s wideband Clean Channel Technology (CCT) and Equalink. The company said it did not expect throughput as […]
Panasonic’s Viera Connect goes live with debut of HDTVs
Panasonic has hit the market with its 2012 Smart Viera HDTVs, first announced at CES in January. The TV sets in the product line are all broadband-enabled and mark the debut of Panasonic’s Viera Connect, which provides access to a set of apps, including connections to several over-the-top (OTT) and independent on-demand services. Viera Connect […]
thePlatform tunes up TV Everywhere with new tools
In an effort to bring more value to cable operators’ TV Everywhere services, thePlatform has added new features to its mpx system that enable customized content bundles and the ability to segment subscribers. “The two new features that we are introducing are actually pretty simple features overall, but I think they unlock a lot of […]
Ericsson to layoff some North American employees
Ericsson is cutting back on its workforce in North America, where it currently employs more than 14,000 people. The layoffs will hit “less than 10 percent” of its employees across all of its groups, a spokeswoman said, but she did not confirm reports in The Kansas City Star that the company was targeting its lowest-performing […]
Apple lets movies into iCloud, upgrades Apple TV
Apple is making it easier for people who buy movies through iTunes to play them on the various devices they own. Apple said Wednesday that customers can now save some movies on its iCloud remote storage service. That system lets devices such as the iPad and the iPhone retrieve content wirelessly. Before, if you bought […]
New iPad will connect to LTE broadband
Apple gave the new iPad a bunch of new features, but no new name. When it goes on sale next week in the U.S. and several other countries, it will be “the iPad,” or perhaps “the new iPad” – not “iPad 3” or “iPad HD,” as some had speculated. The new iPad unveiled Wednesday comes […]
SCTE Canada names Arris VP Professional of the Year
Christopher Skarica, Arris’ vice president of strategic accounts for Canada, has been named the 2012 Canadian Engineering Professional of the Year by the SCTE Canada. The award honors outstanding technical achievements and contributions made to the advancement of the cable telecommunications industry by a Canadian engineering professional. This is the first time that an engineering […]