Science & Technology 
Science and Technology
Science and Technology 
Mon, February 23, 2009
Buckeye CableSystem Picks BigBand for Switched Digital Video
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--BigBand Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBND), a leader in digital video networking, today announced that Buckeye CableSystem has selected BigBand's switched digital video solution (SDV) to execute the cable operator's bandwidth reclamation and high definition (HD) strategies. Buckeye is the largest cable firm operating in the Toledo, OH, area, providing a suite of video, voice and data services to approximately 150,000 subscribers.
"We looked at various options for optimization of our bandwidth and have chosen BigBand's SDV solution because it gives us an efficient means to better utilize our spectrum and to expand our HD content," said Joe Jensen, Buckeye's chief technology officer. "SDV will allow us to quickly regain bandwidth, helping us to execute our competitive strategy and expand HD services."
Buckeye's deployment of SDV will be implemented across its Motorola set-top box environment and validates that MSOs of all sizes view SDV as a cost effective bandwidth reclamation and service expansion tool. The operator also has plans to leverage future capabilities of the SDV architecture for delivery of cost-effective, IP-based video.
"We applaud Buckeye for embracing SDV as more than just another bandwidth approach," said David Heard, BigBand's chief operating officer. "SDV gives operators of all sizes a compelling business opportunity to build more engaging HD programming line-ups and revenue-generating services while maximizing cost efficiencies. With SDV, Buckeye can both position its offerings very competitively in the market and lay the groundwork for dynamic, and more personalized services."
Buckeye is a leading member of the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC), a programming and hardware buying cooperative, representing more than 1,100 independent cable operators. Buckeye's goal is to evolve network capabilities and offer video services that will become increasingly personalized over time.
BigBand SDV has been deployed, or is being deployed, by six of the top 10 cable operators in North America, passing over 20 million households. The company's SDV solution helps operators optimize the network spectrum needed for bandwidth-intensive services such as HDTV and long-tail content. BigBand's SDV solution provides a path to personalized television services by migrating seamlessly from multicast to ultimately individualized, unicast delivery.
About BigBand Networks
BigBand Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:[ BBND ]) provides broadband service providers with innovative network solutions designed to make it easier to move, manage and monetize video. These solutions are based on BigBand's video-networking platforms that are built to enable efficient and reliable delivery across a wide range of services, including digital TV, high definition TV, advanced advertising, video-on-demand and interactive TV. BigBand Networks' customers include more than 200 service providers—including seven of the ten largest service providers in the U.S.—and leading cable and telco service providers in North America, Asia, Europe and Latin America. BigBand Networks is based in Redwood City, Calif., with offices worldwide. For additional information about the company, please call +1-650-995-5000, email [ info@bigbandnet.com ] or visit [ www.bigbandnet.com ].
About Buckeye Cablevision, Inc.
Buckeye Cablevision, Inc., is the largest cable firm operating in the Toledo, Ohio area, with more than 150,000 customers in Toledo and 27 of its contiguous suburbs and adjacent townships. It is the 22nd largest cable operator in the United States. It was founded in 1965 and is the second oldest continuously-owned large-city cable system in the US.
It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Block Communications, Inc. Block Communications is a holding company which also owns Buckeye TeleSystem, a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier; The Blade of Toledo and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, both daily newspapers; another cable television system in Sandusky, OH, and broadcast television stations in Lima, OH, Louisville, KY, Springfield/Decatur, IL, and Boise, ID. Block also owns Metro Fiber & Cable Construction Co., also headquartered in Toledo, Ohio.
BigBand Networks' brand and product names are service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of BigBand Networks, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
This release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined under the U.S. Federal Securities Laws, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is subject to the safe harbors created by such laws. Forward-looking statements may relate to, but are not limited to the functionality, programming potential and other potential benefits to be derived by Buckeye CableSystem from the use of the BigBand's switched digital video solution, Buckeye's plans to leverage future capabilities of BigBand's platform for IP-based video, and Buckeye's plans to evolve its networks to support increasingly personalized video delivery, forward-looking statements are based on current expectations that involve a number of uncertainties and risks that may cause actual events or results to differ materially. Factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially include, among others, the following: rapid technological change that can adversely affect the demand for BigBand's products, design flaws in BigBand's switched digital video solution, shifts in Buckeye's demand, shifts in strategic relationships, delays in BigBand's ability to deliver or decisions to discontinue its products and services, or announcements by competitors. These and other risks may be detailed from time to time in BigBand's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which may be obtained from [ www.sec.gov ]. BigBand Networks is under no obligation to (and expressly disclaims any such obligation to) update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Information contained in our website is not incorporated by reference in, or made part of this press release.