Over the past several weeks our voice products engineering group (which I happen to head up as my "day job") has been converting our esteemed customers over to our new Metaswitch-based Voice Mail platform. We have converted the Cleveland and Columbus markets over to the new system, and will be converting the Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan markets as well over the next couple of weeks. Voice Mail customers should have received a letter from the general manager of their respective region regarding this change. We understand that this change will bring some inconvenience (because ALL change is inconvenient!), but I'd like ... » Read more
DOCSIS 3.0-A New Reality at WOW!
As has been indicated in past posts, WOW has been working behind the scenes for the better part of a year to upgrade Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) plant to support DOCSIS 3.0, a cable standard which more effectively manages digital bandwidth on the cable network as well as allowing "channel bonding" to attain higher speeds to individual users. That work is largely complete at this point. What this means for our customers is the availability of higher speed data connections, as well as more network availability during times of peak congestion. Currently the maximum speed available is 15MPS down and 2MPS ... » Read more
The State of 3D
As we approach the "3/4 mark" for 2011, I thought it would be informative to check up on 3D television technology generally, and where the industry sits at this time. Just this past week, Sony and Samsung announced a joint initiative to develop common standards for active shutter glasses that would allow interchangeability between televisions made by different manufacturers. Implicit in this idea would be the potential availability of glasses manufactured by third parties, potentially driving the cost of 3D technology down over time. In a jointly prepared statement, the companies revealed: "Panasonic Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Sony Corporation and X6D ... » Read more
Streaming to Tablets–Part Deux
Several weeks ago I wrote a piece on the dispute between Time Warner and Viacom. (See that article here.) At the center of the "TV Everywhere" paradigm is the legal question whether consumers should have access to content on any device that they've paid for as part of their cable subscription without additional fees being levied on the cable provider and consumer. Most cable companies, as you would expect, feel that a cable subscription to a channel should extend to every viewable device within the home at no extra charge to the distributor or consumer. Content providers see ... » Read more
Digital Video Transition–Almost complete
It's been a long hot summer, though not over yet by any means. WOW!'s video teams have been very busy with the digital video transition, which is complete in Michigan and Ohio, and in full swing in Illinois and Indiana. The transition should be complete in Illinois by the end of August, with the Evansville market complete the following week. We anxiously await the completion of this massive undertaking, which will allow expanded programming options for our customers. High Definition channel lineups particularly will be beefed up as a result of this process. I admit that I'm a selective TV viewer--part ... » Read more
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