Cox Communications has kicked off an all-digital project in Omaha that will enable the MSO to reclaim analog spectrum for other services, including bigger HDTV and VOD lineups and faster Internet speeds.

The phased-in project there will be completed over the next eight months, according to the Omaha World-Herald. 

Update: Following an initial all-digital deployment last year Connecticut, Cox has also started similar upgrades in systems serving Rhode Island and Tulsa, Okla. New Orleans and Cleveland are among systems that are on deck. Cox is also preparing to start the all-digital process in Orange County in May, a spokesman said. 

To assist with the all-digital migrations, Cox is using a “Mini Box,” a downstream-only Digital Transport Adapter (DTA) that converts digital signals to analog. Cox’s is using a new class of DTA with an HDMI port that supports HD. HD-DTAs will also come with a remote control, an on-screen guide, and parental controls. Evolution Digital and Cisco Systems are among Cox’s known HD-DTA suppliers. 

Cox has set up a Web site that provides details about its all-digital transition.

In its all-digital markets, Cox is offering eligible subs one free Mini Box for up to 12 months, and leasing out additional units for $1.99 per month. Cox is also providing a free CableCARD for 12 months instead of a Mini Box for subs with TiVo boxes and other CableCARD-compatible devices.

Following an initial rollout in Connecticut, Cox Communications confirmed that its all-digital transition has stretched into systems serving Rhode Island and Tulsa, Okla.

Next in line are New Orleans and Cleveland as Cox looks to expand the migration to other systems through the end of this year and into 2016, Cox spokesman Todd Smith said.

Cox kicked off the transition in Connecticut late last year, a move that will enable the operator to reclaim spectrum currently being used to deliver about 60 analog TV channels. Cox will use that reclaimed capacity to pump up its digital TV channel offerings, expand its VOD service and free up spectrum for DOCSIS 3.1, an emerging multi-gigabit platform for HFC networks.

More than half of that reclaimed spectrum will be used for DOCSIS 3.1, Kevin Hart, Cox’s EVP and CTO, told Multichannel News in an interview last year.

Cox is deploying fiber-to-the-premises technology in a somewhat targeted fashion during its initial deployment of 1-Gig residential broadband services, though DOCSIS 3.1 is expected to play a keyrole  in a plan that calls for Cox to begin market-wide deployments of gigabit speeds by the end of 2016.  

To assist with all-digital migration, Cox is employing a “Mini Box,” a downstream-only Digital Transport Adapter (DTA) that converts digital signals to analog. Cox’s is using a new class of DTA with an HDMI port that supports high definition TV. Cox’s HD-DTAs will also come with a remote control, an on-screen guide, and parental controls.

Multichannel Newsreported in August  that Cox had selected Evolution Digital and Cisco Systems as its first two DTA suppliers.

Cox has launched a web site for its all-digital project. Cox is offering eligible subs one free Mini Box for up to 12 months, and leasing out additional units for $1.99 per month. Cox is also providing a free CableCARD for 12 months instead of  a Mini Box for subs with TiVo boxes and other CableCARD-compatible devices.

Alternatively, Cox customers affected by the all-digital shift can lease interactive set-tops with CableCARDs that support services and apps such as VOD, the operator’s new Contour interface, and premium channels .

Time Warner Cable said it has kicked off “TWC Maxx” all-digital upgrades in the Dallas Metroplex that will pave the way for faster broadband speeds, more channels and VOD, and the operator’s new, souped-up HD-DVR.

TWC said it is also expanding the rollout of its metro WiFi network in Dallas, starting in small business locations, with outdoor deployments to kick off toward the end of the first quarter.

On the broadband end, TWC Maxx will boost the capabilities of the MSO’s Standard residential tier from 15 Mbps to 50 Mbps downstream; raise Extreme from  30 Mbps to as much as 200 Mbps; and bump subs of the Ultimate offering from 100 Mbps to 300 Mbps, at no extra charge. Regarding broadband competition, AT&T has begun to offer its fiber-based, 1-Gig-capable “GigaPower”  to pockets of the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.

TWC will also make available an Arris-made Enhanced DVR with six tuners and a 1-terabyte drive, enough to record up to 50 hours of HD video. 

TWC is also using one-way Digital Transport Adapters (DTAs) in support of the all-digital conversion. In Dallas, TWC is offering existing customers DTAs at no charge through April 21, 2016, so long as they put in their orders by August 19, 2015. DTAs are simple channel zappers that convert digital signals to analog.

TWC. which is in the process of being acquired by Comcast, said the first phase of the all-digital initiative  will reach the following areas: Addison, Allen, Arlington, Bedford, Carrollton, Cedar Hill, Cockrell Hill, Colleyville, Commerce, Coppell, Dallas, DeSoto, Double Oak, Euless, Farmers Branch, Farmersville, Flower Mound, Frisco, Garland, Grand Prairie, Grapevine, Greenville, Highland Village, Hutchins, Irving, Kennedale, Lancaster, Lewisville, McKinney, Mesquite, Murphy, Pantego, Plano, Princeton, Richardson, Rockwall, Rowlett, Sachse, St. Paul, Sunnyvale, The Colony and Wylie.

TWC Maxx upgrades are underway or complete in Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York, and San Antonio. Other TWC markets on tap this year include San Diego, Hawaii, Charlotte and Raleigh.

Rovi said it has scored a deal to supply guides that run on high-definition Digital Transport Adapters (DTAs) that will be rolled out by Suddenlink Communications.

Suddenlink wouldn’t outline its current DTA deployment activities or say which vendors will supply those DTAs, but those one-way devices, which convert digital signals to analog for older TV and have been playing a significant role in the cable industry’s various analog spectrum reclamation efforts. All-digital upgrades are an element of “Operation GigaSpeed,” an initiative announced last year by Suddenlink that will enable the operator to raise high-end broadband speeds to 1 Gbps in 90% of its footprint by 2017.

Suddenlink has rolled out a next-gen video platform powered by the TiVo platform. TiVo has also developed a guide for DTAs, including models made by Evolution Digital.

“Our customers have relied on Rovi guides to inform and enhance their entertainment viewing experience,” said Suddenlink SVP and chief programming officer Kathy Payne, in a statement. “Suddenlink looks forward to improving the user experience in subscriber homes with Rovi DTA Guides.”

The Suddenlink deal marks more progress for Rovi’s DTA guide, which supports elements such as parental controls, on now/on next banners, and the ability to set language options. Last year, it announced a master agreement for the guide with the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC), and said Armstrong was the first U.S.-based MSO to deploy a Rovi guide tailored for DTAs. Cablevision Argentina has also rolled it out. Rovi has previously announced htat it has ported DTA guide to models made by Evolution Digital, Arris and Pace.