Cable Web Services Launches HomeStream; Industry's First Cable Data Service Designed for Rapid, Broad Market Acceptance.PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 5, 1998--Cable Web Services (1) Loosely, any online service delivered over the Web. Such usage appears in articles from non-technical sources, but not in IT-oriented publications, because definition #2 below describes the correct use of the term. (CWS CWS Chicago White Sox CWS College World Series CWS Church World Service CWS Child Welfare Services CWS Canadian Wildlife Service CWS Community Water System (EPA) CWS Canada-Wide Standard CWS Compressed Work Schedule ), the only manufacturer and provider of cable data services and systems ready to deliver broad, rapid market penetration Noun 1. market penetration - the extent to which a product is recognized and bought by customers in a particular market penetration - the act of entering into or through something; "the penetration of upper management by women" , today announced the national availability of its HomeStream(SM) cable data service. HomeStream's unique service model and innovative cable data system design offers subscribers high-speed Internet See broadband. access, today, with zero equipment costs, and allows cable affiliates to realize immediate revenue from the service with no capital investment -- a combination all others have been unable to deliver to date. With HomeStream, affiliates can quickly reach penetration rates as high as 15% of basic subscribers. "CWS' HomeStream service meets the requirements of home PC users and cable affiliates alike -- speed, broad availability, low cost, convenience, reliability, and comprehensive system management," stated Steve Getz, co-founder and chief technology officer of Cable Web Services. HomeStream Cable Data Service Designed for small and mid-sized cable systems, HomeStream 1000 is a turnkey See turnkey system. solution for high-speed Internet access that: - Offers a simplified, low-cost entry into this lucrative market with FREE cable headend equipment for affiliates and FREE cable modems for subscribers; - Delivers immediate incremental Additional or increased growth, bulk, quantity, number, or value; enlarged. Incremental cost is additional or increased cost of an item or service apart from its actual cost. revenue from affiliates' existing one-way cable plant and current on-line subscribers; - Provides a clear migration path to two-way service as affiliates upgrade their plants; - Provides a platform for the delivery of valuable new forms of content and services over cable. "We compared a number of high-speed cable Internet Internet access via the cable companies. There are two kinds of service. One uses a cable modem to connect to a computer, and the other uses an enhanced cable box that provides Internet access directly at the TV. services," said Bob McCabe, president of Metro Cable, Philadelphia, PA. "We chose HomeStream because we could start seeing revenue right away, without making any changes to our cable plant," continued McCabe. HomeStream is presented to cable affiliates in a service offering similar to a premium channel like HBO Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy or Showtime show·time or show time n. 1. The time at which an entertainment, such as the showing of a movie, is scheduled to start. 2. Slang The time at which an activity is to begin. Noun 1. , and is easy to implement within their current business model. No Internet networking experience or capital investment is required. Cable affiliates continue their traditional duties of cable network management, billing, and marketing. Their only new responsibility is providing and maintaining an Internet connection to the cable headend. In the service partnership, CWS provides: headend equipment, installation, and maintenance; full-service network See FSN. management; technical support for cable technicians and customers; complete, coordinated account administration; comprehensive marketing programs; and one-way cable modems cable modem Modem used to convert analog data signals to digital form and vise versa, for transmission or receipt over cable television lines, especially for connecting to the Internet. and software for subscribers. Unlike other cable data service providers, CWS will provide cable modems and software free to subscribers and cable headend equipment and software free to cable affiliates to aggressively penetrate the market. CWS is able to offer this free equipment and software, profitably, because of its unique service model and innovative cable data system design. CWS' HomeStream service allows cable affiliates to realize immediate revenue by offering high-speed Internet access service, today, using their existing one-way cable plant, while enabling them to implement a cost-justifiable, prioritized two-way cable plant upgrade over time. When cable affiliates are ready to offer two-way service, CWS will provide complete two-way HomeStream service and cable data systems. HS-1000 Cable Data System The HomeStream service is built on CWS' innovative, field-proven HS-1000 Cable Data System. The system comprises hardware and software components for both PC users and cable affiliates, including: - an HCM-1000 Cable Modem -- an internal card for installation in the subscriber's PC; - an HCS-1000 Cable Server -- a "half rack" of network and communications equipment for installation at the cable system headend; - HS-1000 System Manager software. The system focuses on the downstream path from the Internet to the home, where research shows more than 90% of data transfer takes place and where speed matters most. Upstream From the consumer to the provider. See downstream. (networking) upstream - Fewer network hops away from a backbone or hub. For example, a small ISP that connects to the Internet through a larger ISP that has their own connection to the backbone is downstream from the larger traffic from the user's PC continues to travel through their current Internet Service Provider Internet service provider (ISP) Company that provides Internet connections and services to individuals and organizations. For a monthly fee, ISPs provide computer users with a connection to their site (see data transmission), as well as a log-in name and password. (ISP (1) See in-system programmable. (2) (Internet Service Provider) An organization that provides access to the Internet. Connection to the user is provided via dial-up, ISDN, cable, DSL and T1/T3 lines. ) over a telephone line, while downstream traffic from the Internet to the user's PC travels through the cable plant via CWS' hardware and software. If there should be an interruption INTERRUPTION. The effect of some act or circumstance which stops the course of a prescription or act of limitation's. 2. Interruption of the use of a thing is natural or civil. in cable service, all downstream traffic is automatically routed over the telephone connection on a temporary basis until the cable connection returns. The entire data routing process is invisible to subscribers, and convenient. Since HomeStream works with any ISP, there is no need for users to change their e-mail address See Internet address. e-mail address - electronic mail address , access settings, or user preferences. The only difference they notice is a marked increase in speed -- up to 1.5 Mbps (T1 speed) -- on average, ten times faster than today's fastest x2 and K56Flex modem speeds, and 20 times faster than 28.8 modems. "I think the cable modem service is great. I would not go back to a regular dial-up connection," commented Candice Nilsson, a HomeStream subscriber. "I can download To receive a file transmitted over a network. In any communications session, "download" means receive, and "upload" means send. The download/upload often implies a big/little scenario, in which data is being downloaded from the "big" server into the "little" user's computer. a five megabyte One million bytes, or more precisely 1,048,576 bytes. Also MB, Mbyte and M-byte. See mega and space/time. (unit) megabyte - (MB, colloquially "meg") 2^20 = 1,048,576 bytes = 1024 kilobytes. 1024 megabytes are one gigabyte. file that used to take me an hour in about 2-1/2 minutes," continued Nilsson. HS-1000 System Manager CWS' HS-1000 System Manager software incorporates the industry's most sophisticated network management features, including Quality of Service (QoS) parameters that allow cable affiliates to offer a range of service tiers that can be priced accordingly. Tiers define how any user or group of users is allowed to participate in the network, and they control not only the rates and priorities of users, but also time limits, idle activity, transfer amounts, and surcharges for overuse overuse Health care The common use of a particular intervention even when the benefits of the intervention don't justify the potential harm or cost–eg, prescribing antibiotics for a probable viral URI. Cf Misuse, Underuse. . In addition, the HS-1000 System Manager features comprehensive tracking and reporting capabilities, including Usage Summaries, Overuse Charge Reports, and Upstream/Downstream Data Transfer Reports. Custom reports are also available. At no cost, a built-in status monitoring utility gives the cable affiliate real-time information on his cable plant all the way to the individual cable drop. No other competitively priced cable data system on the market today provides the sophisticated network and bandwidth management Controlling the traffic flow in a network. See bandwidth manager. capabilities of CWS' HS-1000 system. HomeStream's Reliability and Flexibility The HS-1000 cable data system is noise tolerant and is designed to operate reliably in poor signal areas and in the "roll-off " area. Now, cable affiliates can see revenue from a channel that can't provide acceptable video quality -- and one that no other cable data system can use. In addition, affiliates can seamlessly transfer the HS-1000's output from one cable channel to another, if necessary, without having to physically alter the modems in subscribers' homes. "The HomeStream cable data service works very reliably," said Scott Searcy, director of technical services at CWS. "There have been weeks in which our partners haven't taken a single support call from their subscribers," continued Searcy. HomeStream's Cost and Availability The HomeStream service, which can be offered to all subscribers within the cable affiliate's service area, is priced competitively. The cost of dial-up service through a local ISP is approximately $19.95/month and is paid directly to the ISP. The cost of basic HomeStream service that is offered by the cable affiliate is $19.95/month. Both services total $39.90 per month. CWS and the cable affiliate share the revenue that the cable affiliate collects for the HomeStream service. Subscribers may also pay one-time installation fees generally totaling less than $100. HomeStream 1000 one-way cable data service is available nationally, today. HomeStream 2000 two-way service will be available in 3Q'99. Cable Web Services Cable Web Services is the only manufacturer and provider of high-speed cable data services and systems ready to deliver broad, rapid market penetration. Cable Web Services delivers its turnkey HomeStream cable data service to cable subscribers through partner-ships with cable affiliates. HomeStream is a unique service model that can provide consumers with high-speed cable Internet access, today, regardless of their location, while allowing cable affiliates to quickly enter this lucrative new market, realizing immediate revenue with zero capital investment. The service features CWS' innovative HS-1000 Cable Data System, which includes FREE hardware and software for both subscribers and cable operators, and HS-1000 System Manager software that delivers tiered service Tiered services is business jargon for providing a service (such as telecom connectivity or cable channel service) according to separate, incrementally distinct quality and pay levels, or "tiers." The term has current usage in the debate over network neutrality. , network bandwidth management, comprehensive tracking and reporting, security, and plant wide status monitoring. Cable Web Services is located in Philadelphia, PA and was founded in 1995. The company can be reached via phone at 610-238-0109, via FAX at 610-238-0221, via e-mail at info@cable-web.com, or via the Internet at www.cable-web.com. HomeStream is a service mark of Cable Web Services, Inc. "Get There Now" and "Powering Cable Internet" are trademarks of Cable Web Services, Inc. All other brands or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion