BigBand expands business with Adelphia

BigBand Networks today announced that Adelphia Communications will use its BigBand Digital Simulcast to upgrade its Los Angeles system to digital technology, while maintaining its analog video offerings.

Adelphia will simulcast digital programming as part of its transition to an all-digital cable service.

The Adelphia announcement is not unexpected--the company uses BigBand for high-speed data, digital TV, HDTV and video on demand--but it comes as BigBand is gearing up to show off its newly integrated systems, which combine its previous video networking expertise with IP Cable products it acquired a year ago from ADC Telecommunications. At next month’s summer CableLabs’ conference, the company will exhibit its integrated product line for the first time and is expected to announce at least one new customer.

The timing is good, said Seth Kenvin, vice president, strategic marketing, because cable companies and telcos alike are now preparing their broadband networks to offer the full range of digital services.

“All broadband networks need to carry the full volume and variety of services--so they need to enhance their infrastructure because they were usually built for one service,” he said. “The important thing is to be able to get inherently more versatile without throwing out everything that pre-existed.”

BigBand was founded six years ago, and developed its video platform to address the challenges of digital TV, and the onset of high-definition TV and VOD. Adding the cable modem capabilities of the ADC IP Cable unit enables the company to also deliver VoIP and high-speed data.

“With the growth of digital TV, and the onset of HDTV and VOD, we are resetting the equation, in terms of the volume size of streams and quality-of-service requirements,” he said. “We are starting to come together with platforms that combine both sides of the merger.”

Among the new requirements are greater bandwidth, more network intelligence and higher system reliability, so that the integrated network performs at telecom standards, Kenvin said.

“Basically during the summer conference at Cable Labs, we will be showing a tremendous amount of new downstream capabilities in terms of throughput, total performance and cost,” he commented. “One of the primary differentiations between the way companies operate today and the way they are going to operate is amount of bandwidth required. Video is a tremendous driver. Whether that is broadcast or unicast, there is a lot of bandwidth that is required. Our focus is on showing the capabilities of the combined platforms, which provide new additional downstream bandwidth at about one-tenth of the cost and a dramatic increase in density.”

Adelphia’s move to digital simulcast is part of the transition away from bandwidth-hogging analog transmission, and will enable the company to have the benefits of digital transmission, including digital ad insertion.