BigBand Networks
Encyclopedia
BigBand Networks is a multinational
corporation
headquartered in Redwood City
, California
, United States
. BigBand manufactures and sells digital video and data processing platforms and solutions in areas ranging from digital video
to CMTS.
, Israel
with roughly 200 people. The main Data and Voice products development center is located in Westborough, Massachusetts
with roughly 175 people . A small video development group resides in the Redwood City
headquarters and a fourth research and development office was recently open in Shenzhen
, China
.
s. Amongst the company's biggest MSO clients are Comcast
, Time Warner Cable
, Cablevision and Cox
.
In recent years the company expanded the video offering to Telcos
, with Verizon
becoming their biggest customer in 2006. BigBand's main products include a digital video
processing platform called BMR and a Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS)
called Cuda. The video platform enables services such as Switched Video
, Digital Cable
, Video on demand
and IPTV
offered on a variety of transport networks such as QAM
cable,
DSL
and Verizon FiOS
.
In 2008, BigBand received the Technology & Engineering Emmy Award
for its innovative switched video
technology.
, Merrill Lynch
, Jeffries & Company, Cowen & Company and ThinkEquity.
BigBand is currently suing a firm started by ex-employees. The firm, called Imagine Communications, is allegedly infringing on 3 of BigBand's patents covering video processing and bandwidth management techniques.
to artificially inflate their financials prior to IPO. As a result of failing to meet its guidance, BigBand Networks stock has suffered a drop from its post-IPO high of $21.43 to a low of $3.76. It is now considered "one of the poorest IPO's of 2007". In addition, "management has lost credibility" and it has been suggested that it's time for the CEO to "step aside".
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
headquartered in Redwood City
Redwood City, California
Redwood City is a California charter city located on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California, approximately 27 miles south of San Francisco, and 24 miles north of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans from its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people, to its tradition as a port for...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. BigBand manufactures and sells digital video and data processing platforms and solutions in areas ranging from digital video
Digital video
Digital video is a type of digital recording system that works by using a digital rather than an analog video signal.The terms camera, video camera, and camcorder are used interchangeably in this article.- History :...
to CMTS.
Locations
BigBand has 2 major development centers. The main Video products development center is located in Tel AvivTel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
with roughly 200 people. The main Data and Voice products development center is located in Westborough, Massachusetts
Westborough, Massachusetts
Westborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,272 at the 2010 census. The town is governed under the New England open town meeting system, headed by a five member elected Board of Selectmen whose duties include licensing, appointing various...
with roughly 175 people . A small video development group resides in the Redwood City
Redwood City, California
Redwood City is a California charter city located on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California, approximately 27 miles south of San Francisco, and 24 miles north of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans from its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people, to its tradition as a port for...
headquarters and a fourth research and development office was recently open in Shenzhen
Shenzhen
Shenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Products and Technologies
The company sells video, voice and data solutions directly to major cable Multi-System Operators MSOMulti system operator
A Multiple System Operator or Multi System Operator is an operator of multiple cable television systems. A cable system in the United States, by Federal Communications Commission definition, is a facility serving a single community or a distinct governmental entity, each with its own franchise...
s. Amongst the company's biggest MSO clients are Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
, Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
, Cablevision and Cox
Cox Communications
Cox Communications is a privately owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises providing digital cable television, telecommunications and wireless services in the United States...
.
In recent years the company expanded the video offering to Telcos
Telephone company
A telephone company is a service provider of telecommunications services such as telephony and data communications access. Many were at one time nationalized or state-regulated monopolies...
, with Verizon
Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications Inc. is a global broadband and telecommunications company and a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average...
becoming their biggest customer in 2006. BigBand's main products include a digital video
Digital video
Digital video is a type of digital recording system that works by using a digital rather than an analog video signal.The terms camera, video camera, and camcorder are used interchangeably in this article.- History :...
processing platform called BMR and a Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS)
Cable modem termination system
A cable modem termination system or CMTS is a piece of equipment typically located in a cable company's headend or hubsite, and used to provide high speed data services, such as cable Internet or voice over Internet Protocol, to cable subscribers...
called Cuda. The video platform enables services such as Switched Video
Switched video
Switched video, also called switched digital video or SDV , is a telecommunications industry term for a network scheme for distributing digital video via a cable. Switched video sends the digital video in a more efficient manner so that additional uses may be made of the freed up bandwidth...
, Digital Cable
Digital cable
Digital cable is a generic term for any type of cable television distribution using digital video compression or distribution. The technology was originally developed by Motorola.-Background:...
, Video on demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
and IPTV
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...
offered on a variety of transport networks such as QAM
Quadrature amplitude modulation
Quadrature amplitude modulation is both an analog and a digital modulation scheme. It conveys two analog message signals, or two digital bit streams, by changing the amplitudes of two carrier waves, using the amplitude-shift keying digital modulation scheme or amplitude modulation analog...
cable,
DSL
Digital Subscriber Line
Digital subscriber line is a family of technologies that provides digital data transmission over the wires of a local telephone network. DSL originally stood for digital subscriber loop. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line ,...
and Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS is a bundled Internet access, telephone, and television service which operates over a fiber-optic communications network. It is offered in some areas of the United States by Verizon Communications. Verizon was one of the first major U.S...
.
In 2008, BigBand received the Technology & Engineering Emmy Award
Technology & Engineering Emmy Award
A Technology and Engineering Emmy Award is given by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for outstanding achievement in technical or engineering development...
for its innovative switched video
Switched video
Switched video, also called switched digital video or SDV , is a telecommunications industry term for a network scheme for distributing digital video via a cable. Switched video sends the digital video in a more efficient manner so that additional uses may be made of the freed up bandwidth...
technology.
Recent Affairs
BigBand went public in March 2007. The offering was underwritten by Morgan StanleyMorgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City serving a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 36 countries around the world, with over 600 offices and a workforce of over 60,000....
, Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch is the wealth management division of Bank of America. With over 15,000 financial advisors and $2.2 trillion in client assets it is the world's largest brokerage. Formerly known as Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., prior to 2009 the firm was publicly owned and traded on the New York...
, Jeffries & Company, Cowen & Company and ThinkEquity.
BigBand is currently suing a firm started by ex-employees. The firm, called Imagine Communications, is allegedly infringing on 3 of BigBand's patents covering video processing and bandwidth management techniques.
Class Action Lawsuit
In October 2007, a class-action shareholder lawsuit was filed on behalf of shareholders who purchased BigBand Networks Inc. securities in the company’s IPO on March 15, 2007. The lawsuit seeks to pursue remedies under the Securities Act of 1933. The complaint alleges BigBand violated the Securities Act, and that company insiders including the CEO, CFO and CTO knowingly published misleading and false statements about the company’s financial health and product offerings. In particular, the complaint alleges that BigBand materially misstated their revenues, and engaged, among other allegations, in the practice informally known as channel stuffingChannel stuffing
Channel stuffing is the business practice where a company, or a sales force within a company, inflates its sales figures by forcing more products through a distribution channel than the channel is capable of selling to the world at large. Also known as "trade loading", this can be the result of a...
to artificially inflate their financials prior to IPO. As a result of failing to meet its guidance, BigBand Networks stock has suffered a drop from its post-IPO high of $21.43 to a low of $3.76. It is now considered "one of the poorest IPO's of 2007". In addition, "management has lost credibility" and it has been suggested that it's time for the CEO to "step aside".