BRIEFS

CABLEWORLD STAFF

Volo Communications, a subsidiary of Caerus (a CLEC), announced earlier in the month that it has launched a VoIP trial in Florida. What sets Volo apart from the Vonages of the world is that it taps into its own private IP backbone to handle its calls, rather than using the public Internet. The package includes unlimited residential local and long-distance calls for a flat rate of $25 per month.

In an effort to reduce truck rolls and the other peripheral expenses associated with providing HSD service, Adelphia Communications has elected to activate SupportSoft's suite of support automation software in its systems nationwide. The MSO, the country's fifth-largest broadband services provider, will deploy SupportSoft's SmartAccess, Service Automation Suite, HomeNet and Knowledge Center software products to manage the accounts of its 900,000 HSD customers. The individual components of SupportSoft's software package run the gamut of customer service issues, including self-installation, online help and tips on home network configuration.

Mere days after the FCC ratified the plug-and-play initiative, Microtune has announced the availability of its MT2111-PNP-RD chip-set reference design. Microtune says that the reference design will allow TV manufacturers to build cable-ready sets that can process digital signals without the mediation of a set-top box. (The first wave of P&P sets will be one-way; a more advanced two-way version designed for interactive applications is in the works.) The design is priced at $4,835.

BigBand Networks and Internet Photonics have forged a partnership to help operators defray the costs of delivering HD and VOD. Preaching the gospel of GigE transport, both companies say their collaboration can be deployed immediately, and can be modified as network needs demand.

PrediWave has released a multiple-service digital set-top box capable of receiving live DVB video broadcast channels and delivering VOD. The PDV-4100 DVB-C also comes with a hard drive and a modem.