Welcome to the broadband and cable news roundup, Hump Day edition.
Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC)'s TV app for the iPad has been upgraded to provide access to more than 4,000 TV and movie titles from the operator's video-on-demand (VoD) vault for traditional set-top boxes. The initial catalog is a mix of hi-def and standard-def fare, and complements the app's ability to stream a large subset of live TV channels (about 250 today) from the TW Cable lineup as well as on-demand fare from the operator's TV Everywhere library for PCs, smartphones and tablets. The same VoD upgrade will be coming to TW Cable's TV app for PCs and Android devices in a "near-future release," with a targeted launch of the first quarter of 2013, the company said. The upgrade is significant because it marks another step in TW Cable's IP video transition as it prepares more content for IP-connected devices while continuing to support legacy set-tops that can only use MPEG-based transport streams.
More rumors about the mythical Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) TV set emerged Wednesday, as The Wall Street Journal reported that the company is working with companies in Asia to test large-screen HDTV designs. Of course, the report also came with a big hedge that the work is in the early stages and might not mean Apple will indeed pull the trigger on a TV set strategy.
Suddenlink Communications has expanded the availability of the TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO) Stream, a video transcoding device that sends live video to iOS devices (Android devices will follow) that are within reach of the customer's home Wi-Fi signal. Suddenlink began to offer the Stream in Lubbock, Texas, in October for $10 per month, but has since expanded distribution to several more Texas systems; Clovis, N.M.; and Greenville, Kinston, New Bern, Rocky Mount, Tarboro, Williamston and Washington, N.C. (See Suddenlink Activates TiVo Stream .)
Comcast has landed a deal to supply data and voice services to the NBA's Boston Celtics via the MSO's Metro Ethernet platform and PRI trunks. The team will use Ethernet Private Line to provide 100Mbit/s connections between its Boston and Waltham locations, 50Mbit/s Ethernet Dedicated Internet connections at its practice facility, and will use PRI trunks for unified voice services across the team's Boston-area facilities. The deal comes as Comcast moves up market to service mid-sized businesses, a category that presently makes up about 15 percent of the company's business services revenues. (See Comcast Makes Hay With Metro Ethernet .)
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