Industry News - May 2015

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The Comcast-TWC merger is dead in the water, but Charter's $10 Billion acquisition of Brighthouse is still on.

Sprint is taking a page from T-Mobile's playbook to eliminate this pain with International Value Roaming. With International Value Roaming from Sprint, customers can check emails and surf the web on 2G speeds and send unlimited text messages from top destinations in Europe, Latin America and Japan. And, voice calls from those countries to anywhere in the world is only 20 cents per minute. There are no overage charges, and no fees to worry about.

Sprint is also offering a variety of full-speed data packages for customers who might want more horsepower, and when the speedier data cap is reached, the plan simply reverts back to 2G speeds.

Charter moves to buy Bright House for $10 billion

The Comcast/TWC merger may be dead in the water, but that's not stopping other large cable operators from pursuing consolidation strategies. Charter Communications recently announced that it will attempt to purchase Bright House Networks for the cool sum of $10.4 billion. Will the feds let this $10-billion-deal through? In the interest of competition, it just might, as the merger would create a large player that could go toe-to-tow with Comacst and TWC. It's important to note that Charter also has deals in the works with Comcast and TWC.

Charter CEO Tom Rutledge commented on the strengths of the deal in a press release. "Bright House Networks provides Charter with important operating, financial and tax benefits, as well as strategic flexibility. Bright House has built outstanding cable systems in attractive markets that are either complete, or contiguous with the New Charter footprint. This acquisition enhances our scale, and solidifies New Charter as the second largest cable operator in the U.S."

Verizon Talks SDN

Software defined networking (SDN) is hotter than a summer afternoon in Arizona, and service providers are beginning to truly embrace and implement the technology around the globe. This month Verizon outlined its SDN strategy, and revealed how it is implemented SDN and creating the architecture for its future network. Key to this strategy are Verizon's technology partners: Cisco, Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Nokia Networks, and Juniper Networks. Working with these vendors, Verizon has created a network architecture document and is performing lab testing in several locations throughout the U.S.

The company has been laying the groundwork for SDN for several years, with strategic technological investments and research and development, according to Roger Gurnani, chief information and technology architect, Verizon.

“Verizon and our key technology partners have always focused on providing high-performance networks for our customers, and with this SDN architecture we will continue to ensure our network and services meet the needs of our customers, today and in the future.”

You can read more about Verizon's strategy, and how it intersects with IoT, NFV, and enterprise services in this recently published article.

The Cable show becomes INTX

The National Cable and Television Association's big event, The Cable Show, has been rebranded as INTX, the Internet and Television Expo. INTX, which took place as we were going to press, continued along a trend of contraction, and lacked the palpable buzz that typified the event in years past. Still, top executives from the cablecos were on hand to talk strategy and innovation, and demo new solutions, and the crowds were substantial on Wednesday, May 6, the second full day.

The Internet of Things (IoT) was a hot topic along with carrier-grade wi-fi and virtualized solutions like cloud DVR and virtual CPEs. Comcast showcased new streamcasting features of its X1 platform, and many vendors were on hand to discuss how they are enabling cable operators to transform their back-end systems. If you weren’t there to hear the news first hand, be sure to catch the scoop in the News Center.