FCC broadband plan has implications for Motorola's 'Internet Era of TV'

It's possible that Motorola has a mole inside the FCC who whispered back about the Commission's earth-shattering broadband announcement so the vendor could add a little flavor to its Cable Show announcements. More likely, though, Moto, one of the FCC's dreaded set-top duopolies with Cisco Systems, probably just thought it was a good idea to build a show theme around the "Internet Era of TV." There seems to be more uncertainty than ever about what the Internet means to the cable industry.

Before the decision--and no doubt continuing at the show--Motorola's stance is that the Internet will be the main pipe through which cable delivers all its applications, services and content. The vendor has, therefore, developed a new software suite, Motorola Medios, to facilitate the transition.

"Service providers have to rapidly evolve their service offerings. They've been a little slow in adding new applications and devices to their networks," said Buddy Snow, senior director of mobile products marketing at Motorola's Broadband Home Solutions Group. "They have to be much more rapid in evolving their service."

Those statements, of course, were made before the FCC said it would play a larger role in determining how service providers use the Internet. How that, in turn, impacts vendors like Motorola who believe that the Internet means a multiple screen delivery platform, is yet to shake out, but it should guarantee an interesting Cable Show next week.

For more:
- see this video news release

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