cebridge/ntop .. voip started (new)
this has not yet been announced by Cebridge or Net2Phone ….
This is a Q1 2005 cable voip deployment update report by Pike & Fisher.
Per that report, Cebridge would be deploying cable telephony in Montana and Texas in 2005 with Net2Phone.
voip-monitor.com
Net2Phone’s 2003 Memorandum of Understanding with Cebridge –
web.net2phone.com
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Today, CableWorld reported that Cebridge has started to deploy voIP in Portageville, Montana.
cableworld.com
Managing Head-Ends at Cebridge
Jerry Kent's Cebridge Communications is a big operator that's getting bigger, right?
Well it is the 11th biggest MSO in the U.S. right now. But it looks, feels and operates like a small, independent MSO, especially when you consider that it has 500 head-ends for its 430,000 basic subscribers.
For the record, that averages out to 860 subscribers per head-end. Some of Cebridge's more rural head-ends connect as few as 14 subscribers.
This means that Cebridge has to act like a small operator. In many of its smaller systems, Cebridge saves money by having technicians and installers demonstrate new services. Its main promotion in some of these systems consists of a banner hanging above the sidewalks on Main Street.
Marketing to some of these rural communities becomes a serious challenge when populations dwindle, says Cebridge COO Dave Rozzelle. "They are simply dying economically. They've lost generations of young people. Sometimes it's very hard to make the commitment to quality service. We're in a competitive environment everywhere."
Cebridge boasts more than 70,000 high-speed homes. "In some places, high-speed has kept us providing services when video alone wouldn't do it," Rozzelle says.
Cebridge plans to roll out VOD next year. VoIP service currently is being tested in Portageville, Mo.
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data blurb summarizing cebridge:
13. Cebridge Connections
Jerry Kent, CEO
Ownership: Private
Basic subs: 440,000
HSD subs: 40,000
2003 basic-sub rank: 14 (2005 rank – 11th)
Formerly known as Classic Communications, this fast-growing company is led today by Jerry Kent, the former CEO of Charter Communications. It acquired several Houston-area systems from Shaw Communications in mid 2003. So far this year, it has acquired systems from Alliance Communications Partners, LP (January 2004), Thompson Cablevision (March 2004), and Tele-Media Corp., pushing its subscriber counts up to about 440,000 customers in 18 states. Later this year, the company is scheduled to close on a deal to acquire the assets of USA Media, which would further boost its subscriber count to about 480,000. By the end of 2004, it will have upgraded systems serving about 80% of its customers. |
