Verizon Communications suffered a legal setback having to do with claims on video-on-demand technology patents. The telco had been sued by interactive TV and cloud video system vendor ActiveVideo Networks for alleged infringement on the patents in question, and Verizon had responded with a countersuit against ActiveVideo and one of its customers, Cablevision Systems. However, a federal judge has ruled Verizon’s infringement counterclaims to be invalid, which sets the stage for the original lawsuit to go to court on July 12. (more…)
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Moffett: Usage caps create new broadband business model
Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst Craig Moffett has weighed in on the move toward broadband usage caps, deeming them a good idea that will speed the demise of the untenable concept of unlimited broadband packages. (more…)
FCC filings mark game consoles movement into set-top box space
A Federal Communications Commission filing by content giant Fox Group last week has garnered much attention due to a reference a Fox official made to the plans of an unnamed multichannel video programming distributor to make its subscription and on-demand services available over consumer electronics devices, including video game consoles. The Fox filing follows a similarly worded filing by Disney. (more…)
Get ready for Google TV, take two
Google’s I/O Developer Conference featured some interesting news about an Android@Home home control offering, but the Internet giant also offered a glimpse at a coming upgrade to its much-maligned Google TV platform. The update includes the Android 3.1 Honeycomb software, as well as new features and support for the Android Market app store. (more…)
Join the career fast-track: FCC to industry behemoth
FCC Commissioner Meredith Atwell Baker announced she was stepping down from her post, but didn’t say what she was doing next, and now it’s clear why she left out her future plans: She is joining Comcast as an executive just a few months after voting to approve the Comcast NBC Universal deal. (more…)
HBO Go goes it alone to great success. What’s next?
HBO Go got up and went. The app for viewing HBO content on Apple and Android devices saw 1 million downloads within its first week. The success of the app comes after HBO essentially turned its back on top TV sites Hulu and Netflix to pursue its own online mobile strategy. (more…)
Dish Network hits the ground running with wireline broadband
Satellite TV provider Dish Network has announced its initial foray into wireline-based triple play services. The company will roll out bundles on the Colorado network of Liberty-Bell Telecom, a small telco that Dish acquired last year. (more…)
Latest pay TV threat: TVs going the way of landlines
Pay TV operators face no shortage of factors, from economic difficulties to over-the-top video competition, affecting future growth of their services. But, by next year, they may have yet another problem on their hands: The number of TVs in U.S. homes is declining, according to Nielsen Co. research. In 2012, the number of households with a TV set may dip to 114.7 million from almost 116 million this year, the first such drop in more than 20 years. (more…)
NCTA attacks broadband stimulus awards, sheds light on a different problem
A new study from the National Cable & Telecommunications Associations looks to portray the federal broadband stimulus program as an example of government waste. The study more closely examines the market dynamics behind stimulus awards for three projects in Kansas, Minnesota and Montana. (more…)
Today’s deal: AT&T set to roll with Groupon competitor
AT&T surprised the telecom and Internet sectors by unveiling its own take on the daily deals space pioneered by the likes of Groupon, Living Social and others. The telco will soon launch a YP Deals page as part of Yellowpages.com in a handful of markets, including Atlanta, Los Angeles and Dallas-Ft. Worth. (more…)