Beyond Broadband Technology (BBT) announces small system cost effective all digital headend solution.
Tyler, Texas, July 10, 2006 – Three longtime cable operators have formed Beyond Broadband Technology, L.L.C. (“BBT”) which will fulfill the industries need for a low cost set top box. Bill Bauer of WinDBreak Cable, Ben Hooks of Buford Media Group, LLC., and Tony Swain of Tele-Media Broadband Company., L.L.C formed BBT to provide a complete end to end solution for a low cost Digital Platform for the Cable Industry. Bill Bauer, Chief Executive Officer of BBT says, “the goal was to develop an inexpensive system upgrade that will enable operators to migrate to an ALL Digital Platform without the need to simulcast or replace all of their existing set top boxes.
BBT has partnered with Intelsat, the largest satellite communications company in the world that will provide 132 Standard Definition Video Channels and 9 High Definition Video Channels over C-band transponders from Intelsat’s existing Ampiage super headend operational center in Hagerstown, MD. The availability for more product offerings will increase with demand. This initial offering will be in a MPEG-2 format migrating seamlessly and without additional capital expense to the operator to a MPG-4 format in the future. BBT has selected R.L. Drake and Company to initially manufacture and distribute the headend and set top box equipment needed for BBT’s All Digital System. The company anticipates an initial price of $20,000 for headend equipment configured to receive BBT’s initial 141 video channels. Equipment delivery is projected in the first quarter of 2007.
There are multiple differences to BBT’s All Digital Solution and other existing platforms currently in the marketplace. First, all of the system components are being built under an open non-proprietary architecture which will ultimately attract multiple manufacturers and keep the costs low. Second, the BBT product is backwards compatible to existing headend equipment and subscriber set top devices. Third headend equipment and set top devices are designed to grow with the needs of the system, no equipment changes are anticipated. Fourth, the cable operator will control their own channel mapping allowing for individual operator choice in creating the channel lineup at the system headend. Fifth, the cost for programming transport rights to the operator are charged on a per household basis with no fees charged to each converter box in the system. Last but not least the equipment at the headend and set top box are dramatically less expensive than any existing solution.