Oct 21, 2010

Pace Networks and Alphatron offer operators key to access Asia’s cable and IPTV market

Pace Networks has today announced that Singapore-based Alphatron Asia has become its first Asian Network Approved Partner (NAP), supporting the growth of analogue to digital conversion across the region.

By implementing Pace’s MDC1000 as a compact head end platform,, Pace and Alphatron will enable cable and IPTV operators to capitalise on Singapore’s high broadband penetration, extending their digital video and IPTV delivery to a wider subscriber base. Alphatron Asia will combine its local expertise with Pace Networks’ versatile and low cost solution to significantly reduce upgrade costs for operators and minimise potential disruption to services for customers. This will allow cable operators to deliver newer services such as Over the Top TV, IPTV and Video On Demand to what are typically less accessible subscribers, and to commercial multidwelling buildings such as hotels or hospitals.

Alphatron Asia, part of the Alphatron Group of companies, is a leading distributor of electronic components and equipment to satellite, broadcast and marine industries in Singapore. This is a region which has seen significant growth in digital TV, with more than two-thirds of TV-owning households now subscribed to paid services.

Lawrence Low, Managing Director of Alphatron Asia commented: “Our partnership with Pace Networks enables us to address a real challenge in the Asian market. Small operators have become increasingly frustrated about the fragmented, inaccessible nature of their subscriber base, which could previously only be reached with major infrastructure modifications. By working with Pace, we will be able to help both cable and IPTV operators open up new sources of revenue.”

Andrew Ward, General Manager of Pace Networks added: “With analogue to digital conversion plans quickly advancing in all major Asian countries and high projected growth for IPTV and cable, Pace Networks’ solutions offer operators a great opportunity to capitalise on the region’s progress. Our partnership with Alphatron Asia provides operators in the region with access to a versatile infrastructure platform that, combined with the local knowledge on how best to deploy our solution, will help them to optimise their digital offering.”

Pace Networks Approved Partners provide the technological expertise for operators in their local market, helping them to access the ‘last-mile’ of the delivery chain and ultimately to reach a wider subscriber base.

About Pace plc

Pace plc (LSE:PIC) is a leading technology developer for the global payTV industry, working across satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. Pace has one of the world's most experienced specialist engineering teams, developing intelligent and innovative products and services for both payTV operators and retail markets across the world.

Pace employs over 1200 people, in locations that include the UK, the USA, France, India and China. Pace's international headquarters are in Saltaire, West Yorkshire, UK.

About Pace Networks

Pace Networks, a specialised division of Pace plc, is opening up the market for advanced digital services by enabling payTV and other operators to reach inaccessible subscribers. The Pace Networks range of products is already opening up hard to reach markets for TV-led home entertainment with innovative products for the ‘last-mile’ of the delivery chain.

For more information on Pace Networks, please visit;
http://www.pace.com/networks

About Alphatron

Alphatron Asia was established in 1997 as a specialized value-added distributor to the marine electronics, broadcast and satellite industries in South-east Asia. By focusing on our core competency of value-added distribution, we have grown rapidly over the last few years, both in terms of products as well as geographical coverage. We now distribute products throughout ASIA in the marine, medical, broadcast and satellite markets.

In broadcast and satellite, we provide complete turnkey solutions for all monitoring and control requirements. As most customers move from an Analogue to a Digital environment, we provide products which ensure their operations run efficiently. We have local technical expertise to ensure that these products are integrated and function well in our customer's environment.21 October 2010

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Oct 19, 2010

Swisscom's 4x4 MIMO From Quantenna

Swisscom is deploying the world's first 4x4 MIMO 802.11n gateway. Wireless has long promised speeds fast enough for 4 HD video streams, with 802.11n offering 54 megabits up to a nominal 600 megabits. In practice, no carrier has found wireless to deliver the speeds needed reliably. Dropouts and lost packets look ugly on the TV screen, so even occasional errors are unacceptable.
A 4x4 MIMO chip supports four antennas both for transmitting and receiving, the maximum allowed in the standard. Stéphane Dufour of Swisscom says Netgear/Quantenna gateway is "capable of guaranteeing the performance and reliability that our subscribers need."
Quantenna's founder Behrooz Rezvani delivered the world's fastest VDSL DMT chips years ago at Ikanos reaching 100 meg. He's looking to match that feat at Quantenna. Delivering the first 4x4 is impressive, but I'm withholding judgment until I get substantial feedback from the field.
Imran Hajimusa in January showed me an impressive demo of their 802.11 chip simultaneously carrying four HD streams. It's only 3x3, but Hajimusa believes Lantiq design features will yield a better chip. A third company, Celeno, has a major win at Liberty Global, the world's #2 cableco.
They write me "MIMO by itself does not correlate necessarily to good carrier-grade Wi-Fi performance. Video over Wi-Fi needs long range and consistent throughput with very low packet loss. In low SNR conditions (i.e. long reach and/or rich multipath home environment), the number of spatial streams typically degrades to one." Celeno supports "transmit beam forming to extend range, scheduled MAC for QoS and additional features such as antenna diversity and channel aware rate selection for increased robustness to fight off dead spots, people moving, dependency on device orientation , etc."
Balan Nair, CTO of Liberty Global, gives Celeno strong support. “Wireless delivery of video content to multiple video displays is an important part of our home gateway strategy, Celeno was able to meet our stringent performance requirements. Its Wi-Fi solution demonstrated the level of flexibility required." Nair was CTO at Qwest back when they were building the world's first substantial VDSL network in Phoenix and his opinion is always well-informed.
Off the record comments from readers testing the new chips very welcome.
Here's Wikipedia's explanation of the number of antennas
The number of simultaneous data streams is limited by the minimum number of antennas in use on both sides of the link. However, the individual radios often further limit the number of spatial streams that may carry unique data. The notation helps identify what a given radio is capable of. The first number (a) is the maximum number of transmit antennas or RF chains that can be used by the radio. The second number (b) is the maximum number of receive antennas or RF chains that can be used by the radio. The third number (c) is the maximum number of data spatial streams the radio can use. For example, a radio that can transmit on two antennas and receive on three, but can only send or receive two data streams would be .
The 802.11n draft allows up to
Quantenna, Swisscom and Netgear Release the World’s First Reliable Video over Wi-Fi 4x4 MIMO Deployment
Switzerland’s Leading Carrier Deploys NETGEAR Video Bridge That Uses Quantenna’s Wi-Fi 4x4 MIMO Technology to Deliver Most Reliable Wi-Fi Service, Anywhere in the Home.
FREMONT, Calif., October 19, 2010 -- Quantenna Communications, Inc., the leader in ultra-reliable Wi-Fi video networking for whole-home entertainment, today announced that its Full-11n™ 4x4 MIMO 802.11n chipset has been selected by NETGEAR® for a video-bridge solution that Swisscom has used to complete field trials of the first high-definition (HD) video-over-Wi-Fi service from a major worldwide provider.
The collaboration between Swisscom, NETGEAR and Quantenna is the result of a development partnership between the three companies. In 2008, Swisscom began working with Quantenna to define and develop video service-delivery technology that provides whole-home coverage at very high data rates, which is mandatory for services and applications such as HDTV. NETGEAR, whose first video bridge was introduced in January 2008 at CES, joined the partnership in 2009 to deliver a video bridge that uses Quantenna’s Full-11n product to transport multiple HD video streams from residential gateways to multiple set-top boxes around the home with the highest possible reach and performance. Swisscom will use the NETGEAR video bridge with Quantenna’s Full-11n solution to deploy its whole-home broadband wireless video networking service this month.
“We are excited to be the world’s first major carrier to deploy HD video-over-Wi-Fi services using reliable 4x4 MIMO technology. The close collaboration between Quantenna, NETGEAR and Swisscom resulted in an innovative technology capable of guaranteeing the performance and reliability that our subscribers need for an excellent experience,” said Stéphane Dufour, executive in charge of strategy and innovation with Swisscom.
“Quantenna and NETGEAR have worked closely to ensure that Swisscom’s wireless broadband video service exceeds customer expectations for quality and reliability,” said Michael Clegg, vice president and general manager of the service provider business unit at NETGEAR. “NETGEAR’s new WHDE3004 video bridge leverages Quantenna’s industry-leading 4x4 MIMO technology to deliver the most satisfying consumer experience possible while reducing customer support requirements and minimizing truck rolls and overall deployment costs.”
Quantenna’s third-generation 802.11n chipset fully supports the IEEE802.11n standard with advanced 4x4 Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) capabilities as well as dynamic digital beamforming, mesh networking and wireless channel monitoring and optimizing. These features work together to deliver performance improvement across five times the coverage area as compared to earlier WLAN technology. Wi-Fi networks that use Quantenna chipsets are capable of delivering the same quality as wired Ethernet, anywhere in the home, while guaranteeing compatibility with existing and future IEEE 802.11n-compliant products. The chipsets also minimize system latencies for real-time applications such as online multi-player role-playing games using bidirectional video-game controllers.
“Quantenna is excited and proud to be part of the world’s first major 4x4 MIMO video-over-Wi-Fi service deployment by a leading worldwide carrier,” said David French, Quantenna CEO. “Our technology gives Swisscom a platform for deploying a variety of triple-play voice, data and video services, with the option to support new service models such as centralized, multi-room DVRs and remote DVR/STB maintenance and management.” Written by Dave Burstein


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Oct 13, 2010

Silicon Valley Innovator Drives Digital Home Convergence

San Jose, California - August 12, 2008 - 2Wire, a provider of broadband solutions, is celebrating two significant milestones today with the company's 10-year anniversary and the shipment of its 20 millionth HomePortal® intelligent gateway. Now one of the leading providers of broadband gateways in the world, 2Wire continues to set the standard for excellence in broadband access equipment and user experience.

Since its founding in 1998 by a team of four friends, including current CEO Pasquale "Pat" Romano, 2Wire has been committed to developing innovative solutions that unify network-enabled home devices and equipment on a single platform. The company has succeeded, expanding its presence internationally and developing several notable solutions in the broadband space, including residential gateways, multi-service media platforms, intelligent home servers, and remote CPE management systems. Notable industry firsts include:


First splitter-less DSL self-install solution - 2000
First intelligent residential gateway - 2000
First wireless gateway - 2001
First TR-069-compliant remote CPE management system (CMS) - 2004
First multi-service media platform to integrate DSL and satellite television services (MediaPortal®) - 2004
First outdoor broadband home gateway (HomePortal iNID) - 2006
2Wire continues to expand its global distribution footprint while constantly developing innovative, award-winning solutions for its growing list of customers.

Pat Romano, co-founder, president, and CEO of 2Wire, looks toward the future with excitement. "The opportunities for 2Wire in the broadband marketplace are limitless right now," said Romano. "The market is going through a period of significant maturation and consolidation. We have scale, technology, a large customer base, and a world class group of employees on our side. Our history demonstrates that we consistently change the game in the industry through innovative combinations of technologies and services. These attributes have served us well in the past and will continue to do so as we forge ahead."

"From the beginning, it seems that 2Wire correctly anticipated and timed the growth we are currently witnessing in the broadband market," said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst with Parks Associates. "The company continues to lead the market to this day, with innovations in residential gateways, storage solutions, and convergent video and digital entertainment offerings. By the end of this year, 27 million households worldwide will have residential gateways, growing to more than 70 million by the end of 2012. With its expanding portfolio of products and services, 2Wire is very well positioned to continue capitalizing on this growth."

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Oct 5, 2010

498 Million Lines June, > 500M Today

Tom Starr, head of the Forum, has been there from the early 1990's setting DSL standards. He and many others at the Forum played crucial roles in getting from about 0 to 500M in 12 years. Sorry I wasn't at the Forum meeting in Hong Kong to raise a toast. The story in the data that China is growing so fast (>5M last quarter) that overall world grosth continues strong. Here's the announcement, which is based on Point-Topic data.

One in every five of the world's households now has fixed broadband, Point-Topic estimates and the Broadband Forum is celebrating in Hong Kong. That's 2.63% growth in the quarter and 11.99% in the last 12 months to end of Q2 2010. ...
* China – the powerhouse of global broadband in the 21st century so far was responsible for 43% of all net broadband lines added in Q2 2010 and performed far better than the same quarter in 2009 ('China' includes Mainland China, Hong Kong & Macau)
* In Western Europe many markets did better than the equivalent 2009 quarter. Germany, the UK, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland and Turkey amongst others all reported strong numbers
* Central and South American markets have cooled to an extent but many are still reporting good quarterly growth (in the 5%-7% range)
* However North America, the USA and in particular Canada have significantly slowed and - in Canada's case - to levels not seen for a decade

Continuing the trend from previous quarterly figures, Asia increased its share of the overall broadband market by a further 1.2% in the year Q209 to Q210 and by 0.41% in the last quarter alone. The region now accounts for almost 41% of the total, with Europe in second place with 30% and the Americas showing 26%. China is the biggest individual contributor to the Asian growth adding 5,470,888 lines bringing its total to 120,591,488, over 24% of the 500,000,000 lines achieved in the early part of Q3. Elsewhere in the top 10 the real movement is from Russia and Brazil. Written by Dave Burstein


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