> Canal Digital is getting ready to launch a Linux-based video-on-demand service for satellite and cable customers. The company is running a broadband TV test for 5,000 premium DTH subs and a selection of 500 movies from the Internet. Story.
> Mindspeed Technologies says it has doubled the performance and density of its media processing system on a chip (SoC) to help cable and network operators better support increased demand for mobile video applications and added media processing capabilities and services like videoconferencing, MMS and dynamic ad insertion. News release.
> Echostar will announce and discuss its first quarter financial results May 10. The company provides set-top box equipment, digital broadcast operations, and satellite services including products from wholly owned subsidiary Sling Media. News release.
> A Taiwanese media researcher wants the country's National Communications Commission (NCC) to lift a cap that limits cable operators to no more than one-third of nationwide subscribers. Chou Yun-tsai, an associate professor at the Yuan Ze University Graduate School of Social Informatics argued that the cap would pit cable operators with about 2 million subscribers against three major telecom carriers that have a client base of 25 million. There are about 7 million cable subscribers in Taiwan. Story.
> The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) decision to issue DSL licenses to cable TV operators is expected to boost broadband penetration, especially in unserved and underserved areas. Story.
> MIPS Technologies has entered into a strategic alliance with Imagination Technologies "to help SoC developers get to market quickly with optimized solutions combining processor IP from MIPS and graphics, video and other IP from Imagination." News release.