* WildBlue secures $200 MWildBlue Communications has secured a $200 million secured credit facility led by its largest investor, Liberty Media Corp., to fund the growth of its satellite-based Internet access service. A portion of those funds will go toward the launch of a second satellite, scheduled for launch in Q4 2006. The National Rural Telecommunicatons […]
Wire and Cable Tips
CED announces promotions(2)
CED has promoted Todd Marquez to associate publisher, and Jeff Baumgartner to editor-in-chief. Marquez, a 10-year CED vet, has been instrumental in launching several new products, including two weekly electronic newsletters (IP Capsule and xOD Capsule), as well as a video showcase called “Live from the Show” at the 2005 National Show and SCTE Cable-Tec […]
CED announces promotions
CED has promoted Todd Marquez to associate publisher, and Jeff Baumgartner to editor-in-chief. Marquez, a 10-year CED vet, has been instrumental in launching several new products, including two weekly electronic newsletters (IP Capsule and xOD Capsule), as well as a video showcase called “Live from the Show” at the 2005 National Show and SCTE Cable-Tec […]
ET sells out
If you’re arriving to Tampa today for the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers Conference on Emerging Technologies, but forgot to register, you may be flat out of luck if you still want to attend this year’s show. According to the Society, the 2006 confab is sold out. Although the Society is not permitting on-site registration, […]
Broadband briefs for 1/9/06
* ViewNow scores content deal On-demand content aggregator ViewNow has inked a deal with Indiana Video Networks (IVN), a statewide consortium of eight rural telephone operators. Under the deal, ViewNow, a wholly-owned division of Kasenna Inc., will supply IVN with content plus a license for its ViewTrak usage tracking software for IP-based VOD services. IVN’s members serve […]
Broadband briefs for 1/6/06
* Sling goes mobileSling Media has added a mobile component to its TV “placeshifting” platform. SlingPlayer Mobile, a new software client, supports all flavors of Windows Mobile, including those outfitted for the PocketPC and for Smartphone, the company said. Devices that will support the service include the Palm Treo 700w, the Motorola Q, the Samsung i730 and […]
Comcast orders OCAP set-tops from Panasonic
In a landmark agreement, Comcast Corp. has picked Panasonic Consumer Electronics to provide new digital set-top boxes and middleware that will comply with the cable industry’s OpenCable Application Platform (OCAP) specifications. The agreement calls for Panasonic, the U.S. subsidiary of Matsushita Electrical Industrial Co., to make and supply Comcast with an initial 250,000 HD-DVR (digital video […]
LG Electronics backs Downloadable Conditional Access System
LG Electronics Inc. has become the second consumer electronics maker to ink a deal with CableLabs to place downloadable conditional-access-system (DCAS) technology in digital TV sets and other video equipment. Like Samsung Electronics America Inc., which concluded the first DCAS pact with CableLabs in late November, LG Electronics agreed to place the still emerging DCAS […]
BellSouth picks SES for IPTV trial
BellSouth has picked SES Americom Inc. to deliver satellite video services for the Baby Bell’s IPTV initiative. The agreement calls for BellSouth to trial “IP Prime,” a centralized video distribution scheme that SES has developed for bundling hundreds of standard-definition and HDTV programming channels along with broadband and voice services. SES Americom, a unit of the […]
Cox signs up for RealNetworks’ Rhapsody service
Cox Communications Inc. has signed a pact with RealNetworks Inc. to promote the company’s Rhapsody online music service to cable modem subscribers, starting sometime later this year. Under the agreement, Cox’s 3 million high-speed data customers will be able to tap into the standard Rhapsody music service, which offers on-demand access to a library of music, […]