Broadband Bob Report


06/22/99

  • Motorola Reports 750,000 Cable Modems Shipped
  • Optus to Offer @Home in Australia
  • Ericsson, Zoom Introduce DOCSIS Cable Modem
  • MediaOne Introduces RoadRunner in Richmond
  • Open Access Update
  • NetGame Introduces Pre-DOCSIS 1.1 CMTS and Modem/Router
  • Comcast & HSA to Deploy Cisco's uBR
  • Time Warner to Deploy 3Com's Modems in L.A.
  • ISP Channel to Offer Data over ICC Systems in Japan
  • GI Introduces SB3100 Cable Modem
  • Core Networks Introduces Broadband Provisioning OS
  • Cisco & @Home Depart on 2nd Annual Shopping Mall Tour
  • RoadRunner To Use Content from ChannelSeek and Launch
  • CableData & AP Engine Developing Usage & Billing Software


    Motorola Reports 750,000 Cable Modems Shipped
    Motorola opened up the NCTA show earlier this week with an announcement that it had shipped in excess of 750,000 cable modems, up 200,000 from March. According to GecKo Research & Publishing (that's us), the vendor maintains a market leading 44% share.

    Of the estimated 1.73 million cable modems shipped to date, GecKo finds the following division of market share between the vendors:

    Vendor/Shipments/Share
    Motorola: 760,000 (44%)
    Nortel: 490,000 (28%)
    Terayon: 145,000 (9%)
    Com21: 140,000 (9%)
    Zenith: 35,000 (2%)
    GI: 30,000 (2%)
    3Com: 25,000 (1.5%)
    Samsung: 20,000 (1%)
    Thomson: 20,000 (1%)
    NetGame: 15,000 (1%)
    Toshiba: 15,000 (1%)
    Hybrid: 15,000 (1%)
    Phasecom: 10,000
    Rest of the Marketplace: 10,000

    The greatest momentum resides with Motorola, Terayon, Samsung, and Thomson.

    As a whole, the vendor community has contributed to a global installed base that has risen to 1.38 million, with 1.055 million operational in North America. The pace of new installs has grown to 5,000 per day, with 4 out of the 5 modems installed in North America. Homes passed by a cable modem service has risen to 56 million.

    According to GecKo, the industry is on track to claim a global installed base of 2.3 million by the end of the year.

    Cahners In-Stat indicates that Motorola and Nortel combine to account for only 65% of the market share. The firm suggest that 10% of all cable modems shipped in Q'1 were DOCSIS based, with GI, 3Com and Samsung serving as the leading suppliers. These findings are published in a new Cahners In-Stat report entitled Q1 99 Analog and Digital Modem market Analysis. For more info call (617) 630-2144.

    In other Motorola news, the company reported that it had signed co-development and marketing deals with both Media Station and Arepa.

    Motorola
    http://www.mot.com/multimedia

    Industry Stats/Projections
    /modem/frame/stats.html

    Cahners In-Stat
    http://www.cahnersinstat.com


    Optus to Offer @Home in Australia
    Optus has announced that it will offer @Home service to the 2.2 million homes it passes in Australia.

    The boys over at Telstra should be shaking in their boots. This announcement alone suggests that Optus understands that there is a difference between high-speed data and cellular services. Soon enough, Big Pond is likely to look much like a puddle.

    Optus
    http://www.optus.com.au

    @Home
    http://www.home.net

    Telstra
    http://www.telstra.com.au


    Ericsson, Zoom Introduce DOCSIS Cable Modem
    Ericsson has introduced PipeRider, a DOCSIS-based cable modem with a USB interface. In addition to the standard DOCSIS specs, the modem features PipeLock, a button that acts as a security mechanism by cutting off the connection between the user's PC and the Internet. It functions much like a mute button. The modem will also feature web-based diagnostics and the capability to support DOCSIS 1.1 via a software only upgrade.

    PipeRider is scheduled for availability in October.

    Zoom has announced that it is taking the technology it acquired from Hayes to develop a DOCSIS cable modem. Availability is scheduled for the fourth quarter.

    Ericsson
    http://www.ericsson.com

    PipeRider
    http://www.ericsson.com/hip/piperider

    Zoom
    http://www.zoom.com


    MediaOne Introduces RoadRunner in Richmond
    MediaOne has introduced RoadRunner services in Richmond, Virginia with a fully DOCSIS retail approach. For 6-weeks following the introduction of the service, a modem and installation, after rebate, will fun $199. After, certified DOCSIS modems will be sold through Circuit City for $249. and installation will go for $99. 95. Video subs will get the service for $39.95 per month.

    The service has initially been launched to 20,000 homes. The MSO expects to scale the service to 160,000 homes by the end of the year.

    MediaOne
    http://www.mediaone.com

    RoadRunner
    http://www.rr.com


    Open Access Update
    GTE made a political play last week by demonstrating a cable operation in Clearwater in which multiple providers offered data services. GTE worked with AOL and CompuServe Classic to develop the demo for lawmakers, in an effort designed to show the technical ease of rigging a cable system to support multiple providers. From its Clearwater project, GTE concluded that a cable operator could support multiple providers on a 80,000 sub system for a one-time investment of $60,000 using off the shelf technology.

    @Home responded to GTE's conclusions with its own press announcement, which refuted GTE's methodology and findings. The exchange represented a new height in the level of publicly issued nasty talk between the two groups.

    In other news, last week, following a decision by a federal judge to uphold an open access stipulation placed on AT&T by Oregon legislators, FCC Chairman William Kennard publicly commented on the potential dangers of the emergence of thousands of different local regulations for broadband service providers. Kennard stated that "the information superhighway will not work if there are 30,000 different technical standards or 30,000 different regulatory structures for broadband. We have to have a national policy."

    Kennard did propose any solutions, but instead simply noted that the FCC "can't overreact to one federal district court decision. We're very early on this. There are number of options that we can explore. At this point we need to allow the legal process to play out a little bit more."

    Speaking of the cable industry, Kennard said that "we do not have a monopoly in broadband. We have a no-opoly because the fact is, most Americans don't even have broadband. We have to get these pipes built."

    GTE
    http://www.gte.com

    @Home
    http://www.home.net

    FCC
    http://www.fcc.gov


    NetGame Introduces Pre-DOCSIS 1.1 CMTS and Modem/Router
    NetGame has introduced a pre-DOCSIS 1.1 CMTS and integrated modem and router. The CMTS, Quarterback Lite, supports both telco return and bi-directional functionality. The modem/router, the DCBR-1100, features a built in NAT, DHCP server and firewall. It supports IP and IPX routing and bridging.

    The vendor claims the product will support an unlimited number of PCs and IP devices on one network.

    NetGame
    http://www.ngcable.com


    Comcast & HSA to Deploy Cisco's uBR
    Last week, Cisco said both Comcast and High-Speed Access would deploy its SOHO modem/router referred to as the uBR 924. Details of each arrangement were not disclosed.

    Cisco
    http://www.cisco.com

    HSA
    http://www.hsacorp.net

    Comcast
    http://www.comcast.com


    Time Warner to Deploy 3Com's Modems in L.A.
    Time Warner has announced that it will deploy 3Com's cable modems for its Los Angeles, Orange County market, where it passes 625,000 homes.

    Time Warner L.A.
    http://www.socal.rr.com

    3Com
    http://www.3com.com


    ISP Channel to Offer Data over ICC Systems in Japan
    ICC, a slow to bloom Japanese MSO, has teamed with the ISP Channel to offer data services. The 3rd party cable ISP will provide caching, cable modem and CMTS technology, capital, support and VSAT technology, in exchange for an equity interest in the MSO.

    ICC is a subsidiary of Marubeni.

    In separate ISP Channel news, the company said that it has signed a deal with Snap.Com to use the portal operator's broadband content with its data services. ISP may have been a bit uneasy relying on Excite for content.

    ISP Channel
    http://www.ispchannel.com


    GI Introduces SB3100 Cable Modem
    GI has introduced its pre-DOCSIS 1.1 cable modem, SB3100. The modem features a housed power supply, web integrated diagnostics and support for up to 32 users.

    General Instrument
    http://www.gi.com

    SurfBoard
    http://www.surfboard.com


    Core Networks Introduces Broadband Provisioning OS
    Core Networks has introduced a broadband provisioning operating system that provides IP address and DHCP server management, cable modem monitoring, Unix server provisioning, subscriber profile management, and network weather reporting. The system interfaces with DOCSIS and most major proprietary based cable modem systems.

    Core Networks
    http://www.corenetworks.com


    Cisco & @Home Depart on 2nd Annual Shopping Mall Tour
    Cisco, @Home and gang have departed on a second shopping mall tour of the U.S. The boys plan to demonstrate cable modem technology at 20 malls, witch hopes of reaching one million consumers. The line up of participants for this year's road trip include Com21, GI, HP, Hitachi, Intel, Samsung, Travelocity, Heat.Net, Realestate.com, and Showtime.

    The tour will end in November.

    In financial news, last week @Home conducted a 2 for 1 stock split, giving the company approximately 375 million shares outstanding. The @Home stock (ATHM) ended trading on Monday, June 21 at $57 5/8.

    @Home Tour
    http://www.home.net/expo


    RoadRunner To Use Content from ChannelSeek and Launch
    ServiceCo has said that it has teamed with ChannelSeek and Launch to provide broadband content for RoadRunner. Both companies provide streaming media content.

    RoadRunner
    http://www.rr.com

    ChannelSeek
    http://www.channelseek.com

    Launch
    http://www.launch.com


    CableData & AP Engines Developing Usage & Billing Software
    CableData has announced that it has partnered with Applied Protocol Engines (AP Engines) to integrate AP Engine's DOCSIS Usage Agent into CableData's billing system. AP Engine's technology tracks actual subscriber usage of data services and transfers collected data to the billing system. The system will also generate reports on usage for network management analysis.

    Cabledata
    http://www.cabledata.com

    AP Engine
    Email:mailto:jpyle@apengines.com
    http://www.apengines.com



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    The Broadband Bob Report is a weekly take of the latest news regarding data over cable, 2-way HFC networks and related applications and services. Subscribers to Broadband Bob’s Cable Modem Mailing List receive the Broadband Bob Report via E-Mail each Monday. For info on joining the mailing list, visit http://www.hfc.net/mailinglist

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