Mediacom, Blue Ridge to Launch VOD
By Matt Stump -- Multichannel News, 10/2/2001 9:14:00 AM
Video-on-demand is picking up steam among smaller operators. One day after Concurrent Computer Corp. announced a VOD-deployment deal with Blue Ridge Communications, Mediacom Communications Corp. followed suit, announcing that it will buy Concurrent's 'MediaHawk' VOD system and deploy the service by year's end.
Mediacom plans to use Motorola Broadband Communications Sector set-top boxes along with that vendor's 'National Authorization Service.'
'Scalability, reliability and integration with our existing technology platform represented our key selection criteria in choosing Concurrent,' Mediacom senior vice president of technology Joseph Van Loan said in a prepared statement.
Mediacom serves 1.6 million homes in 23 states.
Blue Ridge Communications announced Monday that it will buy MediaHawk servers for a VOD rollout early next year.
Blue Ridge serves 170,000 subscribers in small and midsized towns in eastern Pennsylvania, including Stroudsburg, Ephrata and Lehighton. Blue Ridge plans to offer VOD movies and subscription-VOD services to subscribers using Scientific-Atlanta Inc. set-top boxes and Pioneer New Media Technologies Inc.'s 'Passport' guide.
Blue Ridge director of research and development John Slanina added that the MSO is also looking at personal-video-recorder technology. 'We are very interested in Concurrent's personal-video-recording product,' he said in a prepared statement.
In other vendor news, Comcast Business Communications said it is buying Lucent Technologies' 'BILLDATS Data Manager' to handle local and long-distance billing for its business customers. Comcast said it will use BILLDATS software to manage its network data and to mediate usage between the network and its billing system.
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