FCC ready to flunk broadband providers
The Hill
The Federal Communications Commission is expected to report this year that broadband providers are not deploying services in a reasonable and timely way to all Americans. FCC and industry officials said this year's 706 report, which is on circulation at the agency, will reach a conclusion similar to last year, finding the speed of broadband deployment unsatisfactory. The FCC gave broadband deployment a failing grade in 2010 after years of ruling that services were spreading quickly enough. The agency since has cited the 2010 findings to justify instances of government intervention. It used the report to help provide a legal basis for its net neutrality regulations passed in December. This year's findings could rile House Republicans as well as phone and cable companies, who panned the FCC's findings last year.More

Study: Cable, online advertising set to rise in 2011
FierceCable
Online and cable advertising should see the largest rebounds this year as total ad spending is expected to increase about 2.5 percent to $155.2 billion this year, according to a study from Publicis Groupe's ZenithOptimedia. Online ad spending is expected to jump 13 percent this year, followed by a 10 percent lift in cable ad spending, according to the advertising agency giant. Cinema spending should increase 10 percent this year. ZenithOptimedia forecasts cable ad spending to 8 percent in 2012 and 7 percent in 2013.More

AT&T adds 218,000 U-verse subscribers in first quarter
FierceCable
Wonder where all those eroding cable TV subscribers are going? AT&T said it added 218,000 U-verse TV subscribers in the first quarter to hit the 3.2 million subscriber mark. U-verse, AT&T said, is proving to be a sticky service as more than three-quarters of its subscribers have a triple or quadruple (that includes wireless) play. U-verse ARPU (average revenue per unit) for triple play was $168, up 14.3 percent over the previous year. Overall U-verse penetration is 23.8 percent across all AT&T markets. U-verse is only the whipped cream on the AT&T pie.More

SCTE seeks technical proposals for SCTE Cable-Tec Expo® 2011
SCTE
The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers is seeking proposals for technical sessions that will be conducted during the annual SCTE Cable-Tec Expo® 2011, Nov. 14-17 in Atlanta. The Expo 2011 Program Committee, chaired by Terry Cordova, CTO for Suddenlink, will review all technical proposals. The Expo 2011 Program Committee is particularly interested in abstracts addressing the following topics. Proposals addressing the specific topics described as follows will be given priority, but other topics will be considered. It is desired that all sessions be interactive where possible and include case studies where applicable.More

Register for Understanding Cable Technology by May 1 and save
SCTE
Understanding the technologies supporting today's cable telecommunications architecture is critical to making informed business decisions, thus maximizing your organization's potential. In addition to learning about the core hybrid fiber-coaxial architecture, you also will learn about the technologies used to deliver high-speed data, video, IP telephony and networking the subscriber's premises. The course then will explore holding it all together with operation and business support systems. In the conclusion, learners will get a glimpse of the future.More

Q&A: Sling Media Founder Blake Krikorian
Light Reading Cable
Before MSOs and programmers started hitching themselves to the TV Everywhere bandwagon, there was Sling Media Inc., the scrappy startup that made "place-shifting" a mainstream term. Sling eventually caught the eye of Dish Network Corp. Chairman and CEO Charlie Ergen, who bought it for $380 million in 2007 and proceeded to tuck Sling into his newly spun-off tech and set-top unit, EchoStar Corp. LLC. Ergen's move looks pretty shrewd now as the entire pay TV industry figures out how to make all of its linear and on-demand content available on tablets, smartphones, PCs and connected TVs.More

HBO Go teased for iPad, iPhone, Android
CNET
HBO's streaming service is coming to a tablet and smartphone near you. According to an HBO video posted on YouTube recently, the HBO Go streaming service is on its way to the Apple iPad, Apple iPhone and Android-based devices. "Get every episode of every season of your favorite HBO shows, plus hit movies and much more," the video's voiceover states. "All free to HBO subscribers and all streaming on your iPad, laptop or smartphone wherever you are."More

'What is Optical Spectrum?' Primer available free to members
SCTE
Learn about the frequency range suitable for optical signals and find out why some of these frequencies are better than others for transmission of signals over a fiber optic medium. Explore how optical signals are amplified without conversion to electrical form and how the information-carrying capacity of an optical fiber can be increased by the use of multiple wavelengths. Also, learn about the differences and similarities between traditional RF transmission, and a new technology called RF over Glass, or RFoG, that operates in the optical spectrum.More

Oregon regulators steer customers away from Frontier FiOS, toward Comcast
The Oregonian
Washington County, Ore., regulators say that new customers should stay away from Frontier Communications as the company prepares to jack up installation fees and subscription rates for its FiOS cable TV service. If Frontier tries to drop cable TV altogether, the Metropolitan Area Communications Commission suggested it may act to block the action. "MACC believes Frontier's market share is more than adequate and as of today, the company could not reasonably invoke the termination clause" in its franchise agreement, the commission's regulatory affairs manager, Fred Christ, wrote in a report to commissioners.More

Virgin Media, TalkTalk use Fujitsu to bring fiber to rural Britain
Communications Technology
Fujitsu plans to work in collaboration with Virgin Media, TalkTalk and Cisco to deliver next generation Internet services to 5 million homes and businesses in rural Britain.
 
The collaboration and subsequent Fujitsu build of a new fiber-optic broadband network is an alternative to BT's Openreach and provides an opportunity for any community or local authority looking to access a proportion of the £530 million ($862 million) earmarked by the U.K. government to drive investment in super-fast broadband in rural communities.

 The Fujitsu open access wholesale network will be underpinned by Cisco's technology. Virgin Media and TalkTalk intend to access wholesale products via this network to retail next generation services to customers in remote parts of the U.K. The network also will be open to other service providers on wholesale terms.More

Learn the fundamentals of Switched Digital Video with SCTE Pd
SCTE
This course is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of Switched Digital Video service and the components that make up the SDV network. Participants will gain a solid understanding of the technology, network architectures and common troubleshooting techniques in a Switched Digital Video network. We will begin with an overview of the technology, then explore the components and architectures that make up a Switched Digital Video network, how it works, how it is being integrated within the HFC network, and finally we'll look at trouble isolation and resolution, as well as the best practices for troubleshooting Switched Digital Video.More

Missed the SCTE IPv6 course? Take it on demand
SCTE
Participants in on-demand courses can start these courses any time and are encouraged to contact the instructor for questions and discussion. They will have access to the online presentations for eight weeks after they begin a course. Participants spend approximately six to 12 hours per week, on average, completing the various course activities in order to maximize the learning benefits. A certificate is presented after successful completion of the course and the evaluation form.More

Peter Kafka: ESPN's iPhone app shows us what TV Everywhere is supposed to look like
All Things Digital
Two years ago, the big cable networks and providers started talking about "TV Everywhere" — a plan that was supposed to let cable TV subscribers watch anything on TV, on whatever device they wanted, wherever they were. The idea was that whatever/whenever access would be enough to keep cable TV subscribers paying their monthly bill instead of cutting the cord for Hulu, Netflix, Apple TV, etc. And while it sounded pretty good on paper, it's been very slow going since. But here's what it's supposed to look like: ESPN's new "WatchESPN" app, which does just what you think it does. It lets you watch the sports network live, for free, on your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch, no matter where you are.More

SCTE/ARRIS pocket guide PDF download available free to members
SCTE
The Data Handbook is a handy pocket reference that places much of the industry stuff you want to know at your fingertips. Topics include safety, RF data and calculations, maintenance and troubleshooting, international television formats, cable, taps, and passives calculations and manufacturer losses, fiber data, symbols and acronyms, and data transmission. It's loaded with practical applications and opportunities for skill building. New content on packet transport (MPEG/IP) has been incorporated into this edition.More

Driving the Internet and the American economy forward
FierceTelecom
America's most important contribution to the global economy at this moment is the Internet. It is certainly not a creation "made in the USA" but it embodies things that will keep America great well into the future: the free transfer of ideas and discourse across national boundaries, the fluid movement of capital for innovation and research, the direct connection of people from different walks of life with one another. Americans can be arguably proud — even forgiving Al Gore for a bit of overstatement — if we feel as if we invented the Internet. But whether we created it or not, there are economic benefits that the Internet should bring to Americans who engage in the creative processes that drive the Internet forward.More