Thomson to Provide Comcast Gateways
Thomson today announced an agreement with Comcast to bring advanced cable gateway devices to market, with deployment expected in 3Q 2009.
Conceived as a home networking and communications hub, the gateway will allow Comcast to provide digital voice and data services to customers, including the use of enhanced cordless telephone handsets to view email, manage voice mail, access content and click-to-call from a universal, Plaxo-powered address book.
Thomson already supplies Comcast with it calls digital transport adapters (DTAs), one-way user-friendly devices that enable the delivery of digital services to analog customers.
Comcast CTO and EVP Tony Werner said in a statement that new gateway devices “are a central part of our roll-out of enhanced digital communications services…(and) will enable Comcast to offer a whole new level of services to our subscribers.”
Using digital enhanced cordless telecommunications (DECT) technology, Thomson said its advanced gateway supports software updates and will enable efficient deployment of multi-line and personalized telephony services.
Thomson separately announced that French-based Orange has begun taking delivery of Thomson’s hybrid terrestrial/IPTV/satellite HD set-top box for the service provider’s television service and that its home networking solutions are supporting live, on-demand and interactive video services for Bougues Telecom, also in France.