Editor's Corner: What are Comcast, Samsung and Time Warner Cable cooking up for The Cable Show? Also Noted: Spotlight On... Facebook offering free voice calls to U.S. users
Charter wins set-top waiver from FCC; WICT plans Senior Executive Summit and much more... The Contenders: Municipal fiber providers meeting or beating the incumbent competition
 In this installment of The Contenders, we take a look at five standout municipal broadband providers. Just a few years ago, municipal broadband looked like a long shot to many communities. State or local regulations, legal challenges by established broadband providers, and a shaky economy were among the hurdles that communities had to surmount to bring affordable, high-speed service to businesses and residents. But times appear to be changing... Check out our new feature  Follow @FierceCable on Twitter!
News From the Fierce Network:
1. Sprint to launch broader Ethernet service set later this year
2. FCC to get feedback on giving direct numbers to VoIP providers
3. Growth in overall wireless network traffic slows by 60%, PwC survey finds
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What are Comcast, Samsung and Time Warner Cable cooking up for The Cable Show?
In what may be the best indication yet that Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) will soon launch apps for connected TVs from Samsung, NCTA announced earlier this week that it will give a Vanguard Award to a top Samsung executive at its convention in June. NCTA said it will give the Vanguard for associates and affiliates to Tim Baxter, the president of Samsung Electronics America. The award usually goes to executives from more established cable technology vendors. Last year, Motorola Mobility President Dan Moloney received the award. In 2010, NCTA gave the Vanguard for associates and affiliates to Mark Dzuban, the CEO of the Society of Cable & Telecommunications Engineers. What's remarkable about the selection of Baxter is that Samsung and its cable partners haven't actually launched products that are in cable homes. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2011 that the MSOs would launch apps that year for Samsung connected TVs that would allow cable subscribers to navigate programming without a set-top. While those apps have been demonstrated at conventions such as The Cable Show and the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo, they're not yet available in cable homes...Continued  Read more
Read more about: Comcast
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Today's Top News 1. Dish Network trademarks Otto for voice recognition software
Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH) has filed several trademark applications to use the brand Otto for voice recognition software that could power both its satellite TV service and the mobile phone product it is developing. Otto could be Dish's version of Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) Siri personal assistant, the trademark filings indicate. Dish would like to use Otto for communication and telecommunication services, including "mobile communication, cellular and satellite networks, all of the foregoing provided by means of voice recognition software," according to a trademark application obtained by FierceCable. Dish filed the application at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on April 8. In a separate application, Dish said Otto could be used for "providing information, news and commentary in the fields of entertainment, popular culture, recreation and leisure activities, sports and weather information," and "searching and retrieving information at the user's specific request via the Internet." The company also filed a trademark application to use Otto for "software for enabling hands-free use of a mobile phone through voice recognition; non-downloadable computer software for making travel arrangements and reservations at hotels and restaurants," and "providing online non-downloadable data and information with a cloud storage platform." Dish, which made a $25.5 billion offer to acquire Sprint (NYSE: S) on Monday, also acquired Advanced Wireless Spectrum that could be used to offer consumers mobile data, voice and video services. Founder Charlie Ergen has said he wants to sell subscribers a quadruple play of services that would help Dish compete with Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA), Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and other telecom rivals. Voice recognition software has seen increased demand in the last two years in both the mobile and pay TV sectors. In addition to Apple's popular Siri product, which is available on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5, AT&T (NYSE: T) launched a mobile app last year that allows U-verse TV subscribers to navigate pay TV programming with voice commands. Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Xbox 360 owners who also subscribe to Comcast, AT&T or Verizon FiOS TV can use its Kinect sensors to navigate FiOS TV, Xfinity and U-verse programming with voice commands and hand gestures. Comcast is also adding voice recognition capabilities to mobile apps it offers for its Xfinity X1 advanced video product. Otto is similar to a trademark application Dish filed in 2011 for the brand Ollo. Dish said in its trademark application that it filed for Ollo that the brand could be used for mobile phones, tablets and telecommunications services. Dish spokesman John Hall didn't respond to a request for comment about the Otto trademark filings on Friday. Commentary: A look at advanced guides from Cablevision, DirecTV, AT&T, and the future of channel surfing Related articles:
AT&T launches voice and gesture controls with U-verse Easy Remote app for iPhone, iPad
Dish could challenge cable's quadruple play with Sprint merger
Dish Network trademarks 'Racecar' brand for wireless broadband Internet service
Dish Network trademarks Ollo for mobile video, high-speed Internet and voice products
Dish signs Qualcomm to develop chips for future wireless devices
Ergen: Dish would 'create tens of thousands of new jobs' with wireless broadband venture Read more about: Comcast, U-Verse
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2. Former Motorola exec Larry Robinson to run Arris Home Devices business
One day after closing its acquisition of Motorola Mobility, Arris (Nasdaq: ARRS) said Marwan Fawaz, the former Charter Communications (Nasdaq: CHTR) CTO who had been running Motorola's home division since June 2012, would be leaving the company. Arris, which sells cable set-tops, routers, cable modem termination systems, software and other products, also said it will restructure its solutions under two segments--Home Devices and Network & Cloud. Larry Robinson, the former GM of Motorola Mobility's home devices division, will run the Home Devices business, Arris spokesman Alex Swan said. Bruce McClelland, a former Nortel executive who has been group president of products and services at Arris, will lead the Network & Cloud businesses, Arris said. Former Motorola executive John Burke will lead corporate strategy and development along with Converged Experiences, Swan said. David Potts remains Arris CFO and Larry Margolis keeps his role as chief legal counsel and head of human resources, he added. Fawaz and his former Charter colleague Matt Bell joined Motorola Mobility soon after Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) closed its $12.5 billion acquisition of the company last May. "To ensure a smooth transition, Marwan has agreed to stay on board over the next several weeks. Marwan will also continue working with [Arris CEO] Bob [Stanzione] over the next several months as a special consultant," Swan wrote in an email about the restructuring. Swan also confirmed a report in Multichannel News that Bell and former Motorola executives Jim Buckley and Joe Cozzolino are also leaving the company. Bell and Cozzolino will stay at Arris temporarily to help with the transition, he added. For more:
- see Arris release about closure of Motorola acquisition
- Multichannel News has this story On the Hot Seat: Motorola Mobility's Larry Robinson on the move to video gateways over DVRs Related articles:
Motorola Mobility president Dan Moloney resigns; former Charter CTO Fawaz to run home business
Google closes Motorola Mobility acquisition, Jha out
Comcast spending $150 million for 8 percent stake in Arris
Arris to buy Motorola Mobility home division for $2.35B from Google Read more about: Charter Communications
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3. SES, Harmonic, Broadcom run first Ultra HD transmission using HEVC
4. Cox, A&E, Comcast, Time Warner Cable execs win NCTA Vanguard awards
Top executives from Cox Communications, A&E Networks, Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) will receive Vanguard Awards at The Cable Show convention in June, NCTA announced earlier this week. NCTA said it will give Vanguard awards for distinguished leadership to Cox President Patrick Esser and Nancy Dubuc, the president of entertainment and media at A&E Networks. Time Warner Cable EVP and COO of Residential Services Bill Goetz and Comcast Business Services President William Stemper will receive the Vanguard awards for cable operations management, NCTA said. AMC (Nasdaq: AMCX) Networks COO Ed Carroll will pick up the Vanguard award for programming, and Comcast Cable EVP and Chief Network Officer John Schanz will take home the Vanguard award for science and technology. Time Warner Cable EVP and Chief Communications Officer and Cox veteran Ellen East will receive the Vanguard for government and community relations, NCTA said. David Preschlack, EVP of affiliate sales and marketing at Disney and ESPN Networks, will receive the Vanguard for young leadership. This year's Vanguard for associates and affiliates will go to Samsung Electronics America President Tim Baxter, NCTA added. NCTA said it will hold the Vanguard awards ceremony at The Cable Show on June 12. Tickets cost $50. For more:
- see the release Commentary: What are Comcast, Samsung and Time Warner Cable cooking up for The Cable Show? Related articles:
NCTA expects to draw 12K to The Cable Show
Lamb to receive Vanguard Award; SeaChange names Rau permanent CEO
Cox COO Jill Campbell wins Vanguard Award; Mediacom adds 43 HD channels in Des Moines Read more about: Comcast, Cox
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5. Viewers in multiscreen study watched ads on mobile devices up to 30% of the time
Also Noted SPOTLIGHT ON... Facebook offering free voice calls to U.S. users In today's spotlight, FierceMobileContent takes a look at Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) adding free voice calls to its portfolio. The top social network is allowing U.S. members to call friends using mobile phones that run Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android or Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS platform. The move comes one month after it launched a similar product in Canada. Read more Cable industry news from across the Web: > Charter Communications won a two-year waiver from the FCC to deploy set-tops that support a downloadable security platform. Article > DirecTV said it'll report first-quarter earnings on May 7. News release > Women in Cable Telecommunications said it will run its next Senior Executive Summit in March 2014 at Stanford Graduate School of Business in Palo Alto, Calif. News release Telecom News > Sprint may be a late bloomer in the Ethernet services market, but it has put some bold plans in place that will leverage its Network Vision initiative for its wireless network to deliver a broader set of Carrier Ethernet services this year. Article
> Seaborn Networks, an emerging submarine cable provider that's building out the 32 Tbps Seabras-1 cable network with a link between Sao Paulo, Brazil and the United States, has established Brazil gateways with both Equinix and Telx. Article
Wireless News > HTC's flagship One smartphone, which the company is counting on to boost sales, launched today via AT&T Mobility, Sprint Nextel and will soon be available from T-Mobile USA. Article > América Móvil's U.S. TracFone unit reported stronger subscriber growth and gains in average revenue per user in the first quarter. Article And finally… WWE said it'll open a 26,000-square-foot training center in Orlando, Fla., to develop new talent. News release > Competitive Carriers Global Expo - April 17-19 - New Orleans CCA is the premier trade show and conference for the competitive mobile ecosystem and brings together decision-makers for networking, learning and sharing best practices. CCA is the nation's leading association for competitive wireless providers. To register www.ccaevents.org. > Fierce Innovation Awards 2012 Live Announcement of this Year's Winners - Now Available On-Demand Please join Jason Nelson, Publisher of FierceWireless, FierceTelecom, and FierceCable as we announce the winners of the Fierce Innovation Awards 2012. Click here to RSVP today.
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