Comcast Signs New Set-Top Pact with Pace

Comcast will buy more digital cable set-top boxes from Pace Micro Technology, under a deal that the two companies struck late last month. The three-year pact, valued at $375 million to $550 million based on the type of boxes that Comcast actually orders, supersedes an earlier agreement between the two firms. Notably, the agreement covers Pace's new Tahoe HD DVR set-tops. Comcast also gains the right to sublicense Pace's EngineWare software and specified set-top designs for the North American cable market. Finally, Comcast and Pace will jointly fund the latter's development of next-generation set-tops and related technologies.