AT&T's
(NYSE:
T) desire to get around bad wireline connections in the
home network took another step forward as the FCC approved its
Cisco ISB7005 AT&T U-Verse WiFi-capable set top box (STB). Although
there have been reports of AT&T trialing other WiFi
platforms, including Ruckus, to distribute video throughout
the home, AT&T has been an advocate of using HPNA to carry
signals over existing coax and phone wiring. Stephen
Froehlich, a senior analyst with IMS Research's Consumer
Electronics group, said in a research note that the
competitive advantage that AT&T is touting to have over
satellite and cable is that the Cisco router leverages a
simplified chipset design from Broadcom that can more
efficiently compress video streams. "U-Verse's
comparatively low HD video bitrates are allowing them to use a
relatively inexpensive 2x2 dual-band 802.11n WiFi radio based
on the BRCM4717 for this application," he said, adding that
"AT&T can use such a simple design because its HD video is
encoded at approximately 5 Mbps compared to 5-8 Mbps for HDTV
over satellite and 16 Mbps for HDTV over cable." AT&T
has no plans to abandon HPNA, however. In addition to WiFi,
the Cisco ISB7005 includes standard Ethernet and HomePNA wired
networking interfaces that's present on other AT&T U-Verse
STBs and DVRs. During
the recent Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom
Conference, Ralph De La Vega, President of mobility and
consumer services, confirmed
that WiFi would be deployed as a complement versus a
replacement HPNA-based wireline technology. Since
AT&T has yet to make a formal announcement about the new
STB, Froehlich said "It is not yet clear if the ISB7005 is
intended to be the primary client STB for U-Verse or whether
it is meant instead to be used only to save installers from
the most time consuming of wire runs" and that "we have not
yet seen a multi-room DVR server with WiFi." AT&T is
certainly not alone in its desire to implement WiFi into their
IPTV delivery platform in the home. CenturyLink (NYSE:
CTL) is also considering using wireless to transmit IPTV
in its customer's homes. While not announcing any specific
plans yet, CenturyLink's Dennis Huber told
FierceTelecom that it is also keen on
using wireless to simplify the installation process of
its Prism IPTV product. Troy Bourque BBA, CCNA, CQS-CWLSS 218 Utah St. Morgan City, LA 70380 Is sloppiness
in speech caused by ignorance or apathy? I don't know and I
don't care. Integrated Data Systems, LLC Office: 985-385-5600 Direct: 985-354-0661 Cell: 985-518-4220 Fax: 504-832-1877
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