10-30-98
AT&T Picks Arris - Initial Deal Valued at $50 Million
Motorola Reports Shipments of 100,000 Telephony Lines
MediaOne Introduces Telephone Services in Virginia & Massachusetts Markets
Cablevision Lightpath Interconnection Agreement with Bell Atlantic Approved
Cox Reports 18,200 Cable Telephony Subs
ADC to Bring Back PCS over Cable Solution
Philips Bails out of Cable Telephony Market
AT&T Picks Arris - Initial Deal Valued at $50 Million
Arris Interactive, manufacturer of circuit-switched cable telephony
solutions, has announced that it has enteblack into an agreement with AT&T in
which Antec will supply the telecom giant with its CornerStone cable
telephony system. In the deal, valued at more than $50 million, Antec will
supply an undisclosed number of headends and lines to be deployed in an
undisclosed number of deployments in undisclosed TCI markets.
Considering only the number of homes passed by TCI at 17 million, as
provided by TCI, Arris estimates the account to have a potential value of
$900,000,000. However, the potential could be much higher, since AT&T has
reportedly been aggressively pursuing opportunities to provide telephony
services over other MSO systems. Last week, it was reported that AT&T was
in talks with Time Warner about a deal that would allow reciprocal access
to each other's networks. Therefore, the real potential is astronomical.
Mass deployments are possible, considering that Time Warner has reported
that 70% of its infrastructure will be upgraded by the end of the year.
TCI claims that 70% of its plant will be upgraded by the end of 1999.
While AT&T may stick with Arris, it is unlikely that it will get an
exclusive agreement. An unnamed inside source told Cable Carrier News that
AT&T has a corporate policy against signing sole supplier deals.
According to Stan Brovont, GM for the Cornerstone system, Arris'
Cornerstone platform will provide a migration to IP telephony services,
allowing AT&T to move to IP in the future without the need to replace
equipment. Brovont added that the feature is part of the existing
Cornerstone system and that further developments in its effort to provide
support for IP would be demonstrated at the upcoming Western Show.
The AT&T/Arris deal confirms speculations that AT&T would deploy
circuit-switched systems rather than wait for VoIP technology to mature.
When providers offering telephony over HFC networks such as AT&T, move to
IP, circuit-switched vendors will be in a position to gain a healthy share
of the IP gateway market.
Presently, Arris is the leader in the HFC telephony market with more than
270,000 lines shipped, 63,000 lines in service, and more than 1.7 million
homes passed by its systems. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Nortel and
Antec, Arris has certainly benefited from the international presence and
marketing powers of these two companies.
Cornerstone Commercial Deployments:
A2000 / Netherlands and Amsterdam
Bell Cablemedia / Engalnd
Cablevision Lightpath / Long Island, NY
Cox Communications / Hartford, CT
Cox Communications / Omaha, NE
Cox Communications / Orange COunty, CA
Cox Communications / Phoenix, AZ
Cox Communications / San Diego, CA
Ironton Tel Service Electric / Pennsylvania
ITC Globe / Newnan, GA
Jones Intercable / Alexandria, VA
Jupiter Telecommunications / Suginami, Japan
Jupiter Telecommunications / Tokyo, Japan
Knology / Panama City, FL
Knology / Columbus, GA
Knology / Montgomery, AL
Knology / Augusta, GA
Knology / Charleston, SC
Priority Telecom / Austria
TSS / Germany
TCI / Hartford, CT
Time Warner / Manhattan & Rochester, NY
Titus / Kaisiwa, Kodaira, Sagamihara and other markets, Japan
VTR / Santiago, Chile
Trials:
AFC, NWIT, & MCI / Sergeant Bluff, Iowa
Castel / The Netherlands
Cogeco / Canada
Northgate / Australia
Suginami Cable TV / Suginami, Japan
Other / Caribbean
Sky Cable / Philippines
Planned Deployments:
AT&T / 3 or 4 locations
Cox Communications / Hampton Roads, VA
Cox Communications / New Orleans, LA
Cox Communications / Oklahoma City, OK
Knology / Huntsville, Alabama
Arris Interactive
http://www.arris-i.com
AT&T
http://www.att.com
TCI
http://www.tci.com
Motorola Reports Shipments of 100,000 Telephony Lines
Motorola has announced that it has shipped more than 100,000 cable
telephony lines worldwide with its CableComm HFC telephony system. It
reports that its customers have installed headend equipment capable of
supporting up to 400,000 telephone lines.
CableComm trials & commercial deployments
Binariang Sdn Bhd / Malaysia
Esar Commvision / Punjab, India
Hunan PTA / China
Optus Vision / Australia
TCI / Arlington Heights, IL
Telenet / Belgium
Motorola
http://www.mot.com/multimedia
MediaOne Introduces Telephone Services in Virginia & Massachusetts Markets
MediaOne has introduced local telephone service in Lowell, Massachusetts
and Richmond, Virginia. In Lowell, the MSO will be simultaneously
introducing telephony and data services to 43,000 homes. In Richmond,
MediaOne's initial launch will make service available to 5,000 homes. In
both markets, new customers will receive the first line with 17 call
features for $26.95 a month. New customers will also receive, for a
limited time, free installation, 90 days of free voice mail and a 30-day
guarantee, allowing unsatisfied customers to switch back to their old
provider at no cost.
MediaOne is offering an additional basic line at $9 per month or a second
full featublack line at $16 a month. The full-features lines include call
forwarding, call waiting, call waiting caller ID, preferblack call
forwarding, caller ID, caller ID per call blocking, anonymous call
rejection, distinctive ring, priority ring, selective call blocking, custom
code restriction, customer origination trace, last call return, continuous
blackial, speed calling, call transfer, and three way calling.
Number portability is supported in both markets.
The cable telephony system vendor used was not reported, but it is expected
that MediaOne is utilizing Tellabs' CableSpan system.
MediaOne offers local telephony services over its cable systems in Atlanta,
Boston, Los Angeles, Jacksonville and Lightpoint, Florida.
MediaOne
http://www.mediaone.com
Cablevision Lightpath Interconnection Agreement with Bell Atlantic Approved
Cablevision Lightpath has announced that commissions in New Jersey,
Massachusetts, and Connecticut have approved an interconnection agreement
with Bell Atlantic, enabling the MSO to offer local telephony services in
these states under optimal terms.
The agreement is loaded with provisions that protect Cablevision's
interests. The deal includes a guarantee of favorable interconnection
pricing, including an equal and reciprocal usage-sensitive compensation
rate for completing calls. Enhancements for the improvement of number
portability are detailed. Performance standards are defined as well as
liquidated damage penalties for failing to meet them. The agreement also
requires that Bell Atlantic establish a point of interconnection
architecture that eliminates the need to collocate to interconnect and a
stipulation that the RBOC supply all trunking at its side of the point of
interconnection.
Presently, Cablevision Lightpath offers telephony services in Long Island,
where it utilizes more than 30,000 lines.
Cablevision Lightpath
http://www.cablevision.com/cvhome/frame/fphone.htm
Bell Atlantic
http://www.bellatlantic.com
Cox Reports 18,200 Cable Telephony Subs
According to Cox Communications' third quarter financial report, the MSO
ended the month of September with 18,200 residential telephony customers,
and 27,092 lines served in 5 markets. Its residential services passed
343,581 homes. Telephony revenues for the third quarter totaled $8.7
million, which includes Cox's residential telephony services and commercial
telephony operations (7 markets).
Cox Communications
http://www.cox.com
Cox Digital Telephone
http://www.cox.com/coxphone/page2.htm
ADC to Bring Back PCS over Cable Solution
ADC Telecommunications has informally announced that it will dust off its
PCS over cable solution and bring it back into its product line. The
vendor will be competing with Sanders, a Lockheed Martin company, which has
been the world's sole supplier of PCS over cable technology for the last
two years.
PCS over cable technology has been tested by Comcast in Trenton, New
Jersey; Videotron in Montreal; and TCI in Pittsburgh. However, Sprint PCS
has been the only company to commercially deploy the technology. Sprint
PCS introduced the service over Cox's network in San Diego, Orange County
and parts of Los Angeles a few years ago.
ADC's return into the market coincides with a recent announcement that
Sanders would be shipping its system to two undisclosed cable operators.
ADC
http://www.adc.com
Sanders
http://www.sanders.com
Philips Bails out of Cable Telephony Market
Philips Broadband Networks has announced that it will be shutting down its
circuit-switched cable telephony operations and discontinuing its Crystal
Line telephony system. A Philips spokesman indicated that the company
would focus on IP telephony solutions, adding that the circuit switched HFC
telephony market would be quickly replaced by IP.
Philips' system was tested by Time Warner in Rochester and Oneonta
Telephone in Alabama. Century Communications commercially deployed its
system in Norwich, New York.
The remaining players in the marketplace include ADC, Alcatel, Arris, DSC,
GAD Line, General Instrument, Hughes Network Systems, Motorola, RelTec,
Siemens Stromberg-Carlson, Telegate, Teltone, Tellabs, and West End Systems.
Philips
http://www.be.philips.com/pbn
© Copyright 2000 Gecko Research & Publishing
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