Broadband Reports and Light Reading note that Verizon has decided to use 270 Mbps home networking technology from the Multimedia Over Coax Alliance (MOCA) for their fiber installs. Coax cable can be plugged directly into a television set while CAT-5 requires a settop box.
AT&T, who was using MOCA for Project Lightspeed and their U-Verse IPTV, has now shifted to the Home Phoneline Networking Alliance (HomePNA) technology.
AT&T chose HomePNA because it allows the use of either coax or traditional copper phone lines for home-networking. It can support more than 300 Mbps around the house, using ordinary telephone jacks.
CopperGate Communications supplies the chip sets that will be integrated into television set-top boxes developed by AT&T vendors Scientific Atlanta, 2Wire and Motorola. AT&T chose the technology after extensive testing by AT&T Laboratories.
AT&T’s U-Verse IPTV service is available in select neighborhoods in San Antonio.
AT&T says they are working to expand U-verse to 15 to 20 additional markets by the end of the year. Eventually, AT&T will extend the service to 19 million households by the end of 2008.
Beamforming innovator Ruckus Wireless says their MediaFlex system is giving rural telcos a faster, easier, cheaper way to distribute digital content within the home using standard Wi-Fi. Ruckus says their beamforming MediaFlex system reduces installation to less than one hour by eliminating wiring.
Adding extra TVs doesn’t require an installer or “truck roll”. Additions and changes can be handled by users.
The Ruckus MediaFlex system uses two different technologies to deliver multi-media around the home. The Ruckus beamforming antenna (called BeamFlex), extends 802.11b/g range by up to 300 percent. Ruckus says it is compatible with all current 802.11 chipsets, since it doesn’t implement a silicon-based MIMO (like still unratified 802.11n). The QOS component (called SmartCast) differentiates multicast video frames to provide a robust wireless transport for IPTV streams. Ruckus’ solution will deliver a smooth 16 mbps barring severe interference.
Most broadcast standard definition video requires between 2 and 5 mbps, explains ZDNet, while high definition video typically requires a stable 8 to 16 mbps.
Netgear’s powerline adapters like the XE104 cost $100 per unit and can handle speeds up to 85 mbps. Without the multiple Ethernet ports, the XE103 sells for $80 and with built-in WiFi, the WGXB102 model sells for $150.
E-Marketer projects that in 2010 there will be 8.7 million IPTV households in the US alone, up from 300,000 in 2005.
IPTV middleware has been called the central nervous system of the IPTV distribution system, explains Light Reading. It is the software brain that orchestrates the interaction of network elements from the headend through to the set-top box.
Cisco and Alcatel are the two big movers. Cisco’s acquisition of the VOD player Arroyo Video Solutions, announced Tuesday, is one indicator of its plans to build an end-to-end IPTV solution for carriers.
Verizon is adding about 3 million FiOS homes a year, at a cost of nearly $900 per home, says USA Today. FiOS will be available to 6 million homes by year’s end, 20 million in 2009 and plans to eventually win 30% of current cable subscribers. Meanwhile, No. 1 phone provider AT&T (formerly SBC) has similar plans to take on cable TV.
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