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Tag: agreement

  • Bandwidth.com Enters Into a Groundbreaking Agreement with Verizon

    Bandwidth.com, a privately held telecommunications company, announced that it has signed a commercial deal with the Verizon wireline companies under which the parties agree to terminate each other’s VoIP traffic at a rate of $0.0007 per minute.

    According to Bandwidth.com, the agreed upon rate, which applies to traffic that originates from or terminates to a VoIP end user, provides the companies with cost certainty for the traffic they exchange.

    "For too long, uncertainty over what charges apply to VoIP traffic has served as a wall to the innovations customers want and the lower prices they need," said John Murdock, President of Bandwidth.com.

    "We are delighted to be working with Verizon in reaching a commercial deal that hopefully will serve as a path for the industry and service providers to move forward and better serve customers," he added.

    According to Murdock, this agreement demonstrates how VoIP and other innovative services can flourish through private agreements.

    We know from our experience first hand how such services can spur economic growth and workplace productivity, while lowering costs and generating job growth," Murdock noted.

  • Samsung to Incorporate Rovi’s IPG Technology into Its HDTVs

    Rovi and Samsung announced a multi-year, multi-country technology and patent licensing agreement that allows Samsung to incorporate Rovi’s interactive program guide (IPG) technologies into its next-generation TVs and other consumer electronics devices.

    Rovi’s IPG technologies enable CE manufacturers to integrate interactive, on-screen listings into their products to help viewers navigate, sort, select, and schedule television programming.

    According to the company, Rovi’s guide technologies are designed to provide consumers with “simple and intuitive” access to digital media content of all types as well as a personalized home entertainment experience “that makes it easy for consumers to find what they want, when they want it”.

    Third party guide developers can license Rovi interactive program guide products and technologies. Rovi IPGs are incorporated into consumer electronics products, including plasma, DLP, and LCD televisions as well as DVD recorder-based products. Patent licensing is also available to online and mobile providers.

    “As the choices in content, channels and viewing platforms increase exponentially, consumers need advanced guidance technologies that will help them find out ‘what’s on’,” said Tom Carson, executive vice president, sales and services of Rovi Corporation.

    Kyung Shik Lee, vice president of Samsung Electronics added: “by working with Rovi, we are dedicated to bringing an advanced digital home entertainment experience that empowers consumers to find their favorite content on the television while also enabling them to discover new programming quickly and easily.”

    Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

    Rovi holds over 4,000 issued or pending patents and patent applications worldwide and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, with numerous offices across the United States and around the world including Japan, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, and the United Kingdom.

  • Standard Smartphone Charger Gets Green Light in Europe


    European smartphone users are to get a standardised charger following an agreement between handset manufacturers that control 90 per cent of the region’s mobile market.

    From next year, new phones will be sold with the charger but will eventually come without one – significantly lowering manufacturing and shipping costs.

    The phone makers – Motorola, Nokia, Apple, Sony Ericsson, LG, NEC, Qualcomm, Research in Motion, Samsung and Texas Instruments – announced their plans on Monday through the European Commission.

    The accord finally ends the long-running debate over doing away with the waste and cost of having to change charger whenever buying a new phone that have been rumbling on for years – in Europe at least.

    Following the announcement, EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said: "People will not have to throw away their charger whenever they buy a new phone."

    The chargers will be usable only on data-enabled phones that access the Internet, going beyond voice calls and SMS.

    Nearly half of the 185 million estimated mobile phones projected to be sold in Europe 2010 are expected to be data-enabled – and compatible with the charger.

    Verheugen said the it was assumed the new European initiative would have a knock-on effect globally.

    Consumers will gain from being able to borrow someone else’s charger – regardless if they have an iPhone, Blackberry or Nokia.

  • HP's Consumer PC to Come With Symantec Backup Storage


    Symantec has announced an agreement to distribute Norton Online Backup on HP consumer desktop and notebook PCs worldwide.

    The move is part of Symantec’s plans to expand its consumer business beyond its line of Norton security products.

    The 30-day trial offer of Norton Online Backup will come preinstalled and will provide five gigabytes (5GB) of secured online storage. It will be followed by an annual subscription for USD $50.

    While nearly half of consumers report having lost files in the past, less than a third regularly back up.

    By providing the online backup solution, Symantec is hoping to benefit from its ease of use and HP’s market strength.

    The cloud backup service is one of various new products Symantec has launched in the last 12 months to drive sales.

    However, analysts suggest it may take some time for the backup product to substantially boost sales.

    Symantec already has a PC distribution agreement with HP, through which it sells Norton Internet Security, a suite of programs to fight hackers and other threats.