BEDFORD, MA – iRobot Corp., a designer and builder of robotic solutions, announced that the RP-VITA Remote Presence Robot has received 510(k) clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in hospitals. RP-VITA is the first autonomous navigation remote presence robot to receive FDA clearance. RP-VITA, a joint effort between iRobot and InTouch Health, combines the latest in autonomous navigation and mobility technologies developed by iRobot with state-of-the-art telemedicine and electronic health [...]

BUENOS AIRES – Colombian state-owned broadband provider Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogota (ETB) is planning to roll out a fiber-optic network covering 85 percent of homes in Bogota by 2015, according to TeleSemana, a Latin American telecom analyst firm. Citing ETB chairman Saul Kattan, TeleSemana reports that ETB is investing funds raised by the issuance of bonds to finance a ten-year strategy, which will eventually connect all domiciles in the capital to the company’s FTTH [...]

CAMBRIDGE, MA – Even as global average connection speed decreased by approximately seven percent between the second and third quarters of 2012 to 2.8 Mbps, it enjoyed healthy 11 percent growth year over year. This is according to Akamai Technologies’ latest quarterly “State of the Internet” report, which includes data gathered from across the Akamai Intelligent Platform about attack traffic, broadband adoption, mobile connectivity and other relevant topics concerning the Internet and its usage, as [...]

PALO ALTO, CA – Marketers in the $1.3 trillion global telecommunications industry are being both challenged and enabled by free over-the-top (OTT) communications service providers, such as Google, Skype and Facebook. A new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council study, “Profitability From Subscriber Acuity,” conducted in partnership with HP, shows that while these companies are supplying customers with sophisticated web-based features that are competing with fixed and mobile operators, OTT players are also being courted for [...]

SPARTANBURG, SC – AFL, a provider of fiber optic cable, accessories and equipment, introduced a small diameter interconnect cable based on the MicroCore product line. The new MicroCore Interconnect Cable boasts one of the smallest diameters in the market, offering improved density for short distance interconnects. The diameter of the 12-fiber cable has been reduced by 30 percent and the 24-fiber cable has been reduced by 20 percent. To minimize the cable’s diameter, multiple colored [...]

ATHENS — OPTRONICS Technologies SA announced the kick-off of the European Union-funded research project COCONUT, which will develop a new generation of fiber-to-the-home technology. OPTRONICS is a member of the academic-industrial consortium developing COCONUT, which started work in November 2012 and is expected to continue for three years. The level of funding provided by the EC is approximately €2.7 million ($3.6 million). COCONUT, the project name, means COst-effective COhereNt Ultra-dense-WDM-PON for lambda-to-the-user access networks. (A [...]

CAMPBELL, CA – Securing content licensing is the number one business challenge facing pay TV operators according to market research firm Infonetics Research. The firm released excerpts from its new report “Multi-Screen TV Service Deployment Strategies: Global Service Provider Survey,” for which Infonetics interviewed pay TV operators about their plans for multi-screen video services and delivering live and file-based video content to subscribers with multiple devices. “Multi-screen services are quickly becoming a critical service for [...]

TAMPA, FL – 3M unveiled a portfolio of Passive Optical LAN Solutions for the enterprise LAN. The future-ready fiber-to-the-desktop LAN technology offers an alternative to traditional copper-based Layer 2 Ethernet switches. Passive Optical LAN is being adopted at a fast pace by large government and enterprise LAN customers attracted to the benefits including significant cost savings of including up to 70 percent reduction of equipment and infrastructure, up to 80 percent less power costs because [...]

FRESNO, CA – The Central Valley Next Generation Broadband Infrastructure Project has begun construction in Nevada County, CA. The 1,300 mile fiber optic broadband network infrastructure will cover an 18-county region from north of Colusa to south of Bakersfield in the Valley and from Nevada City to Mariposa in the Sierras. The network will be constructed and operated by CVIN and marketed under the brand name, Vast Networks, which will offer communications services including broadband, [...]

SPARTANBURG, SC – AFL, a provider of communications products and services, introduced its Fujikura 12S fusion splicer, a small, light and portable fusion splicer. At just 4.76″W x 6.38″D x 2.24″H, the full-featured 12S fusion splicer is engineered to increase efficiency in the field. With its fully ruggedized chassis, the 12S provides protection from shock, dust and moisture while its transit case offers multiple options to optimize available work space. The work tray can be [...]