BRIEFS

CABLEWORLD STAFF

New Hampshire governor Craig Benson last week made the 25 millionth voice-over-IP call from Cedar Point Communications' Safari 3 switching system. Speaking from the company's Derry, N.H., office, Gov. Benson started the call with a nod to Alexander Graham Bell, saying, ?Mr. Watson, come here! I need you.? On the other end of the line: Comcast EVP Dave Watson.

Arris said it expects its second quarter revenues to range from $100 million to $105 million, down from previous guidance of between $130 million and $140 million. The company attributed the lower guidance to ?suppressed expected purchasing activities? on the operator side, which in turn delayed telephony rollouts.

Pioneer Electronics (USA) will license TiVo's DVR technology for use in a line of products to be introduced later this year. Although neither company was explicit about the nature of said products, TiVo CEO Mike Ramsay gave some hints in a release. ?Holiday shoppers are going to see TiVo products with more exciting features than have ever been offered before,? Ramsey said.

Gemstar-TV Guide has struck a multiyear licensing agreement with Thomson Consumer Electronics that should put to rest the ongoing legal rancor between the two companies. Finalized last week, the licensing agreement will incorporate Gemstar's IPG with Thomson's RCA-brand TV sets and DVRs. Earlier last week, Gemstar also made peace with TiVo, bringing an end to three years of legal wrangling. Since taking over from departing chieftan Henry Yuen, Gemstar CEO Jeff Shell says he has looked to create a less combative relationship between his company and CE vendors.

Three cable modem termination system (CMTS) vendors have adopted Broadcom's DOCSIS/EuroDOCSIS 2.0-basedchipsets. ADC, Arris and Cisco Systems will use Broadcom's new chips in their upcoming CMTS releases, the chip maker said. The new silicon will enable symmetrical interactive services over cable at rates of 40 Mbps, surpassing DOCSIS 2.0's maximum specified line rate of 30 Mbps.