Friday, August 29, 2003

Hong Kong's PCCW to Launch Pay-TV over ADSL

Hong Kong's PCCW Limited unveiled a new pay-TV service delivered over its broadband ADSL network using IP multicast technology. PCCW currently has a broadband customer base of 480,000 subscribers. The new Broadband TV service will carry feature films, regional and international news, documentaries, music, sports, health, fashion, travel and children's programming. Content agreements have been signed with 23 major channels. PCCW said it is network is capable of delivering DVD-quality video to all locations in Hong Kong. At the customer home, digital decoder set-top box is connected via Ethernet cable to the ADSL modem.

PCCW is using encryption for its Broadband TV service. A Conditional Access Unit at the core of the network ensures secure access to the system, protects content from piracy and allows customers to subscribe to channels online. PCCW has applied for a patent for its secure access technology.

PCCW will promote the new Broadband TV service through an advertising campaign as well as through its 21 retail outlets throughout Hong Kong. PCCW is also featuring a flexible pricing model at rates of HKG$15 to HKG$35 per month per channel selected. Channels can be added or dropped using on-screen menus and the remote control.

PCCW is targetting 20,000 subscriber sign-ups per month for Broadband TV.
http://www.pccw.com
  • PCCW holds the market-leading position in communications in Hong Kong. The company originated from the merger of Hong Kong Telecommunications Limited (Hongkong Telecom) and Hong Kong Telephone and Cable & Wireless HKT International in 1988. The company was later renamed Cable & Wireless HKT. In August 2000, Pacific Century CyberWorks (PCCW) acquired Cable & Wireless HKT for US$29 billion.


  • PCCW said its SMS fixed line service, which was launched on 17-July-2003, has seen an extraordinary response, with over 350,000 lines subscribed in the first six weeks. The enhanced phone service also features a voice-activated phonebook stored on the network that uses speech recognition to make phone calls; and a voice-activated, 7x24 automatic reception and call routing service.

Amalfi Closes $12M for Low Power RF Designs

Amalfi Semiconductor, a start-up based in Los Gatos, California, secured $12 million in series A funding for its low power RF designs for wireless applications. The company said its products would address large existing markets. Amalfi is currently operating in stealth mode. The oversubscribed funding round was co-led by Doll Capital Management and Trinity Ventures.
http://www.amalfisemi.com

Thomson Shows "Oz" Digital Home Network Prototype

Thomson demonstrated its new Digital Home Network concept called "Thomson Oz" at Berlin's 2003 Internationale Funkausstellung exhibition. At the center of the Thomson Oz network is a media server that provides the consumer with a single source for digital entertainment in the home. The prototype shown in Berlin provides access to applications inside and outside of the home, including connection and control of home devices, and it uses 5GHz technology (HiperLAN2 and IEEE802.11a) for delivering content throughout the home. The device can serve as a gateway for ADSL-delivered broadcast TV, Video-On-Demand, Internet access, music, personal recordings and even home automation commands.
http://www.thomson.net/gb/06/c03/030829.htm

Mobixell Networks Raises $5 Million for its Media Processing

Mobixell Networks, a start-up based in New York City with R&D in Israel, raised $5 million from major global investors for its multimedia processing and delivery solutions for mobile systems. Mobixell specializes in multimedia adaptation and optimization for messages delivered over a mobile networks. Its platform provides rendering and delivery capabilities for applications such as multimedia messaging, media album, instant messaging, entertainment, and others. Mobixell's products are operationally deployed in over a dozen commercial installations worldwide. The new funding round was led by Apax Partners' funds and Siemens Mobile Acceleration (SMAC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Siemens Mobile. Additional investors include Comverse and Optibase.
http://www.mobixell.com
  • Mobixell Networks was co-founded by Amir Aharoni (its CEO) and Yehuda Elmaliach (its CTO). Aharoni previously served as president and COO of Optibase, a provider of MPEG-based digital video over ATM and IP-based networks. Elmaliach also previously served at Optibase, in the role of CTO and other positions. Both men also previously worked at Intel's design center in Israel.

Xignal Tech Offers VDSL Analog Front End

Xignal Technologies AG announced the release of its CMOS-based mixed signal integrated circuit (IC) analog front end (AFE). Xignal uses a proprietary cancellation technique that makes it feasible for different line coding schemes to be used. Another unique feature is the provisioning of the full 12 MHz bandwidth in both transmit directions, which allows for standardized or customized frequency plans. In addition, the CMOS implementation of Xignal's cores makes it feasible to integrate VDSL CPE with 802.11 Wi-Fi processors on a single die.
http://www.xignal.com

Lightship Telecom Introduces ATM-based Dynamic Bandwidth T1 Service

Lightship Telecom, an integrated communications provider serving New England, introduced a T1 "dynamic bandwidth allocation" service that provides business customers with increased data bandwidth when voice calls are not being made. The ATM-based access service enables voice circuits to receive first priority, but circuits switch automatically between voice and Internet service. Dynamically allocated bandwidth can burst to up to 1.024 Mbps or 1.536 Mbps of data. Lightship's network includes four Class 5 Nortel telephone switches and four Lucent CBX-500 ATM/Frame Relay data switches.
http://www.lightship.com

Nokia Shows Free-to-Air Digital TV Receiver

Nokia unveiled a compact, free-to-air digital television and radio receiver for the European market. The Nokia Mediamaster 110 T, which is based on Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) standards, provides automatic channel search and access to subscription-free digital broadcasts through an existing rooftop aerial.
http://www.nokia.com

Nokia Set-top Combines Digital TV and PVR

Nokia introduced a set-top box combining a digital satellite or terrestrial receiver with a Personal Digital Recorder for tapelessly recording on-air content. In addition to providing access to pay-TV content from cable operators or satellite broadcasts in the European market, the set-tops can tune in digital free-to-air television and radio entertainment programs where available. The Nokia Mediamaster 260 series also serves as a family Image Album by storing photos transferred via Bluetooth from compatible camera phones. The units also features some of Nokia's games.
http://www.nokia.com

Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom Tops 2 Million ADSL Users

Chunghwa Telecom, the incumbent operator in Taiwan, reported 2.04 million ADSL users as of 30-June-2003, compared to 1.86 million at the end of March 2003. Broadband ARPU was NT$996 for the six months ended June 30, 2003. Chunghwa Telecom reduced its ADSL tariff in July by 16% to expand the customer base and encourage customers to migrate from lower bandwidth to 1.5 Mbps ADSL service.
http://www.cht.com.tw

IBM Wins Multiyear Contract to Manage Boeing's Voice Network

IBM was awarded a three-year contract, with extension options, to manage the Boeing corporate-wide voice communications network, which serves 150,000 users. IBM is instituting variable pricing for a broad spectrum of services, such as telephony systems and applications support, voicemail, audio conferencing and operator services. IBM is working with Verizon to provide service to Boeing users throughout the U.S. The contract was valued at $160 millionhttp://www.ibm.com

Siemens and Huawei form TD-SCDMA Joint Venture

The Siemens Information and Communication Mobile Group and Huawei Technologies set-up a joint venture to develop, manufacture and market TD-SCDMA technology. The new company, with an investment exceeding USD 100 million, will be based in Beijing. Siemens will hold 51% stake in the venture. The Chinese Ministry of Information Industry allocated 155 MHz spectrum to TD-SCDMA in October 2002, paving the way for the commercial use of the standard in China. Siemens has been working on TD-SCDMA since 1998 and will contribute its technology to the joint venture.
http://www.siemens.com
  • TD-SCDMA (Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access) is an upgrade path for existing GSM networks and provides a spectrum efficiency 3 to 5 times greater than GSM. The technology offer the ability to handle symmetric and asymmetric services as well as flexible data rates.


  • The TD-SCDMA Forum was established by eight companies: China Mobile ,China Telecom, China Unicom, Datang Group, Huawei Corporation, Motorola ,Nortel and Siemens. The governing body of the Forum is the China Mobile Association Committee (CMAC). http://www.tdscdma-forum.org