Morning Broadband BytesAll the industry news you need to start your day ( old news - 05:10AM Wednesday May 11 2005) • Around the Industry: UK regulator tells off communications industry
IPTV's 'dirty little secret'
Ericsson demos enhanced uplink
Aussie gov to shell out $50million to cover broadband blackspots
Moscow to get city=wide pre-WiMax• SecurityBits: Apple patches iTunes MPEG decoding flaw
Microsoft quashes 'GreyMagic' bug
Symantec false alert floors Macs• TidBytes: Meet the BSOD's evil cousin, the RSOD
Sony introduces new wireless laptop
Firefox Now Owns Nearly 7 Percent Of Browser Share• More news from around the industry, SecurityBits, and interesting Tidbytes inside!... Around The Industry:• UK regulator tells off communications industry: Ofcom fired a "warning shot" across the bows of the communications industry, accusing it of failing to understand or meet the needs of customers, particularly older people, lower income households and small businesses. The watchdog published research indicating that some consumers are floundering under a barrage of information and confusion which puts them off taking advantage of new technologies.• IPTV's 'dirty little secret': U.S. carriers say one of the biggest IPTV challenges they face is making IPTV service available on all the TVs in a household. “It’s what I call the dirty little secret of IPTV,” says Entone Technologies' CEO. “The huge issue today is that it’s one thing to get the signal to one TV, but what if you have four or five TVs in the home?” To get the IPTV signal from the main TV to sets in the bedrooms costs about $800, according to some accounts of carriers delivering IPTV today.• Ericsson demos enhanced uplink: Ericsson and 3 Scandinavia have performed successful demos of enhanced uplink, also known as HSUPA. With the fist evolutionary step of WCDMA, called HSDPA, the focus has been on improving the downlink capacity and bit-rates but Ericsson now also introduces enhancements in the uplink. Demonstrated mobile broadband apps included e-mail uploads at 1.5 Mbps, VoIP and IP based high quality video conferencing. The system is now undergoing extensive laboratory and drive testing.• Aussie gov to shell out $50million to cover broadband blackspots: The metropolitan broadband black spots program will offer ISPs assistance so they can offer affordable broadband services to customers in city areas who don't have access, said the Communications Minister. The program will target areas where problems with network infrastructure make it unlikely that affordable broadband services will be offered commercially.• Moscow to get city=wide pre-WiMax: Pre-WiMAX wireless broadband service aimed at enterprises will be installed to cover Moscow, the vendors involved in the project said. The network will be installed by Infoseti, a wireless ISP and will use pre-WiMAX equipment provided by Aperto Networks. The companies did not say when the network would be launched.• NextWeb launches wireless broadband service in Las Vegas: NextWeb has expanded coverage into Nevada with the launch of its wireless broadband service in Las Vegas. With this expansion, the approximately 35,000 businesses in the Las Vegas metropolitan area can now subscribe to NextWeb's broadband services over its pre-WiMax network. These services include the company's high-speed Internet services of up to 100Mbps, as well as NextWeb's new VoIP service.• Market growing for broadband-related services: Worldwide revenue earned from services sold to broadband users more than doubled last year, indicating a potentially strong market for Internet service providers who need to find ways of increasing revenues, a market research firm said. Revenues from "broadband value-added services" increased to $6.9 billion by the end of 2004 from $3.3 billion at the beginning of the year, Point Topic said.• Nokia touts mobile-TV standard: Nokia unveiled its version of a standardized method for delivering broadcast digital TV to handsets in the U.S., Europe and Asia. The standard, DVB-H, or Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld, competes with a host of other similar technologies, including Qualcomm's new MediaFlo. Companies supporting DVB-H say it's less expensive and allows a quicker product turnaround.• Price wars looming for digital music?: Yahoo is kicking off a digital music price war that could put rival subscription services in a painful squeeze, analysts say. The company announced its new Yahoo Music Unlimited service will be priced at just $6.99/month ($60/year) with unlimited downloads that can be taken to compatible portable devices. That's less than half the cost of similar services offered by Napster and RealNetworks.• Internet telephony could go mainstream this year: Internet telephony is expected to move from its early adopter phase into the mainstream over the next two years, with the growing use of broadband by U.S. households being a key driver. According to data collected by EMarketer, VoIP access lines in the US could increase to as much as 26 million in 2008 from 9.9 million this year. Revenues from consumers using VoIP could rise to as high as $9.5 billion in 2008 from $1.92 billion this year.SecurityBits:• Apple patches iTunes MPEG decoding flaw: Apple has debuted version 4.8 of iTunes, which adds support for a few new features and fixes a serious security vulnerability. The update is Apple's third serious security fix in as many weeks, following a combined update last week repairing 20 bugs, and an April patch for OS X and the Safari browser. All three have included vulnerabilities that could allow an Internet attacker to take over a system.• Microsoft quashes 'GreyMagic' bug:
MS shipped its 24th security bulletin for 2005 on Tuesday with a fix for a well-known and potentially dangerous flaw in Win2000. The patch arrives three weeks after the public release of a proof-of-concept exploit by GreyMagic Software and carries a maximum severity rating of "important." According to MS, the vulnerability could allow attackers to take "complete control of an affected system."• Symantec false alert floors Macs: The glitch, triggered by a rogue virus definition update, left Mac users under the false impression that their swap files were infected with malware called "Hacktool.Underhand". The bogus warnings were frequently accompanied by system crashes on machines running Mac OS X. Symantec quickly released updated definition files to resolve the problem but not before the SNAFU inconvenienced a significant number of Mac fans.• Symantec releases Antivirus for Mac: Symantec has announced that Norton AntiVirus 10.0 for Macintosh is scheduled to be widely available this month. It includes a new Global Threat Assessment dashboard to provide users with an overview of current virus threats. The product also includes a new Contextual Menu support feature and custom SafeZones. The new program is also compatible with Apple's new version of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger.Hardware, Software, and other TidBytes:• Meet the BSOD's evil cousin, the RSOD• Sony introduces new wireless laptop• Firefox Now Owns Nearly 7 Percent Of Browser Share• Via readies $250 PC• Mac emulator CherryOS canned• MasterCard Shuts Down 1,400 Phishing Sites
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 niblifar
join:2004-02-12
Ohio
 ·Verizon Online DSL
| Meet the BSOD's evil cousin, the RSOD Shouldn't they be brothers? I mean they do have the same parent, Microsoft. Anyway this is good for Microsoft to have more variety in their screens of death. This way fewer people will complain about BSODs, but then again more people will complain about RSODs. | |
|  | JimmySask
join:2004-06-24
Regina, SK
| Re: Meet the BSOD's evil cousin, the RSOD I guess it depends on how you look at - Longhorn may have had different programmers working on it than than other versions, hence different parents. However, both sets worked under Grandpa Bill, which makes them cousins...
Hmmm - If I go any further, it might get confusing, and it'll be like trying to figure out family relations in them thar hills...;) | |
| | 
redxii
too big to fail
Premium,Mod
join:2001-02-26
Texas | Re: Meet the BSOD's evil cousin, the RSOD I bet BSODs indicate how well a third-party vendor's programming skills are and red is probably indicative of hardware failures. | |
| google2
join:2004-02-04
South Beloit, IL
clubs: | MasterCard Shuts Down 1,400 Phishing Sites Great! I wish more of these sites got shut down. | |
| | 
ArchAngel21x
MacFan Pro
Premium
join:2001-10-28
Lincoln, NE
·Internet Nebraska
| Re: MasterCard Shuts Down 1,400 Phishing Sites It is pretty damn scary that there are/were that many scam sites. Even with a cheap register service, that's a lot of money for the domains alone. 
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For web hosting, I choose Powweb. | |
| | | 
Jafo232
You Can't Spell Democrat Without Rat.
Premium
join:2002-10-17
Boonville, NY
 ·RoadRunner Cable
| Re: MasterCard Shuts Down 1,400 Phishing Sites For my two cents, I will give MasterCard a hearty "atta-boy!" on this one.
When an online merchant gets burned with a fraudulant credit card, they usually eat it. This being the case, most credit card companies do hardly anything to curb such behavior. Being an online merchant myself, it is nice to see that at least one of the big 4 is actually doing something!
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Xbox 360 News! XboxCircle.com | |
| 
cdru
Go Colts
Premium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
| IPTV's Dirty Little Secret quote:
To get the IPTV signal from the main TV to sets in the bedrooms costs about $800, according to some accounts of carriers delivering IPTV today. Here’s how it breaks down: two additional set-top boxes at $150 each, new CAT-5 cabling at $50, approximately eight hours of skilled installation at $50 per hour, and a “windshield cost” (gas and depreciation on the service vehicle) of $50.
Puhleez. Can we say overinflated. Essentially there is little difference between a DBS install and a IPTV install. Receiver costs may vary slightly depending on features, but essentially they are the same. Cat5e is as cheap or cheaper then RG6. One requires a DSL modem w/ a hub, the other requires a dish and a multiswitch. So hardware wise, things are about the same.
The amount of labor between the two systems likewise is very similar. Same types of cable runs. Termination isn't any more difficult. If it takes 8 hours to do a house, then they have lousy installers.
If satellite companies can find people to do a house install for $100 + equipment costs, I'm sure the telcos can too. | |
| | kaila
join:2000-10-11
Lincolnshire, IL
clubs:  | Re: IPTV's Dirty Little Secret Agreed....... The real obstacle for IPTV will be how well multiple video streams to a single household hold up with the relatively low bandwidth rates the telco's plan on providing (BellSouth & SBC, NOT FIOS). | |
| | dick white
Premium
join:2000-03-24
Annandale, VA
 ·Verizon FIOS
| You're comparison of the cost of a whole house satellite install with coax vs. an IPTV install with CAT5 is reasonable when both installations are starting from scratch, but I would argue that many houses are already wired with the coax. In-wall CAT5 networks are rare in existing houses, and often is an extra-cost option in new construction.
Also, some cable systems don't require a set-top box for the basic tier, only for the premium tiers and enhanced digital services. If I only need the bedroom TV for the morning network news and Jay Leno's monologue to give me a hearty laugh before going to sleep, I don't need a cable box - the coax jack put in the wall 20 years ago is fine. That additional TV outlet is free. However, if I go with the new Verizon FiOS and toss over cable TV (whenever VZ actually implements their rumored IPTV), well, that's going to require some new holes in my bedroom wall and a set-top box. Thanks, but Leno isn't that funny to warrant a $250 installation fee to watch him on the bedroom TV.
dw | |
| | |
cdru
Go Colts
Premium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
| Re: IPTV's Dirty Little Secret said by dick white  :You're comparison of the cost of a whole house satellite install with coax vs. an IPTV install with CAT5 is reasonable when both installations are starting from scratch, but I would argue that many houses are already wired with the coax. What you say is true. But a decent installer can quickly wire up an additional jack in fairly short order, either from an attic, a basement/crawlspace, or around the outside of a house. Hidden or wall fishes obviously take more time.
However, if I go with the new Verizon FiOS and toss over cable TV (whenever VZ actually implements their rumored IPTV), well, that's going to require some new holes in my bedroom wall and a set-top box. Thanks, but Leno isn't that funny to warrant a $250 installation fee to watch him on the bedroom TV. Verizon isn't doing IPTV. Last I heard they are just essentially emulating a 900MHz cable system, so all that would be required is to run a jumper from the ONT to an existing cable distribution point. Receivers may or may not be required, I'm not sure. | |
| | | | dick white
Premium
join:2000-03-24
Annandale, VA
·Verizon FIOS
| Re: IPTV's Dirty Little Secret Yup, an experienced installer should be able to put in a coax run pretty quickly, and the coax terminations are fairly simple. A CAT5 termination, though, takes some time to do correctly.
And I got my postcard yesterday inviting me to order FiOS. I threw it away. Too many downsides and uncertainties, no real upsides.
cheers,
dw | |
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cdru
Go Colts
Premium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
| Re: IPTV's Dirty Little Secret said by dick white :Yup, an experienced installer should be able to put in a coax run pretty quickly, and the coax terminations are fairly simple. A CAT5 termination, though, takes some time to do correctly. Once you've done a few, like an installer would, it doesn't take much longer to do a RJ45 plug then a RG6 compression connector. Besides, if they use a wall plate, it becomes even easier. | |
| | | | | | dick white
Premium
join:2000-03-24
Annandale, VA
·Verizon FIOS
| Re: IPTV's Dirty Little Secret Yes, speed comes with practice, but my emphasis was on the "correctly." My brother-in-law, at my urging, had his new house completely pre-wired with CAT5, was a $couple-thou option from the builder. After he moved in, I discovered why his network performance didn't reach my hype from when I had convinced him this would be a useful feature. At each wall plate, the installer had stripped back the cable jacket a good 12" and then totally untwisted all the individual pairs, presumably to make the punchdown on the back of the wallplate quicker/easier, and then just balled it all up and pushed it back in the hole. You can get away with that for POTS and even for 10baseT, but not for 100 or Gbit networking and A/V distribution over ethernet. But now, in the end, we're really only talking about a minute or three extra per outlet to do the CAT5 job correctly.
dw | |
| | | | | | | PDXPLT
join:2003-12-04
Banks, OR
| Re: IPTV's Dirty Little Secret said by dick white :At each wall plate, the installer had stripped back the cable jacket a good 12" and then totally untwisted all the individual pairs, presumably to make the punchdown on the back of the wallplate quicker/easier, and then just balled it all up and pushed it back in the hole. Amazing....
Stories like these make me glad I ran my own CAT5, when the remodellers had ripped down most of the drywall.
On topic, these figures seems way overinflated. First off, no one fishes cables through walls (with a possible exception of FIOS installers in some areas, I hear). Industry-standard installations for cable and satellite are to run the cable on the outside walls, and drill through the walls where the TV's are located. That's all that DirecTV and Dish Network will re-imburse the retailers for. Anything else is an upcharge paid for by the customer. | |
| | | | | | | | dick white
Premium
join:2000-03-24
Annandale, VA
·Verizon FIOS
| Re: IPTV's Dirty Little Secret said by PDXPLT :Anything else is an upcharge paid for by the customer. 'xactly. If my living room furniture arrangement has the TV on an inside wall and the room is on a slab foundation (no basement access) with a finished second floor above (and thus no attic access either), I'm gonna pay through the nose - or have a long cable draped across the floor or under the rug. Neither of which is featured in the cheery ads for this new TV service from my internet company that I just must have...
Once you figure out that the upcharges and add-ons for the installation will cost you possibly $hundreds to replicate your current configuration, and therefore the $10 monthly savings from your current cable bill will take years to recoup, it suddenly isn't so attractive (assuming the price differential is structural and therefore permanent...).
dw | |
| haplo2112
join:2003-05-12
Charlton, MA
| Proper Home video distrobution. IPTV and Digital cable have the same problem and the same damn solution if someone would just open their damn eyes and start doing it.
Place the decoder at the Entry bridge to the house, decode everything the customer is suppoed to have decoded.
Have a Channel changing/Interactive box at the TV. Use good old COAX cable to (which many houses are already or easily can be wired with) send the signal to the settop box. Its function is to provide the high number channels most TVs can't tune to, and to control the interactive stuff by communicating with the decoder/encoder at the entry bridge. | |
| | attndefecit
join:2005-04-19
New York, NY
| Re: Proper Home video distrobution. said by haplo2112 :IPTV and Digital cable have the same problem and the same damn solution if someone would just open their damn eyes and start doing it. Place the decoder at the Entry bridge to the house, decode everything the customer is suppoed to have decoded. Have a Channel changing/Interactive box at the TV. Use good old COAX cable to (which many houses are already or easily can be wired with) send the signal to the settop box. Its function is to provide the high number channels most TVs can't tune to, and to control the interactive stuff by communicating with the decoder/encoder at the entry bridge. Explain what transport method should be used from the entry point? Please, don't say analog  and if it's digital at the entrypoint anyway, this solution is superfluous.
Not exactly a solution at all. | |
| | | JimmySask
join:2004-06-24
Regina, SK
| Re: Proper Home video distrobution. In all actuality, I have been along for a number of IPTV installs. It usually takes 2-3 hours to run 3 CAT5 runs straight from the DMARC, 1 each to 2TVs and a PC. Obviously, that sometimes can take 6 hours, but other times it may only take an hour. All depends on the house being wired. I work for a company that has been doing this for almost 3 years now. Even though only 1 pair is used for the actual connection, all pairs are terminated as a matter of standard.
The other option is used by another Telco in our neighboring province, MTS. They also provide IPTV, and use infrared repeaters to send out the signal. I assume this is is fairly wuick and easy, although I have never seen it in action | |
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