CommScope has won the auction for bankrupt rival tech vendor Casa System's cable network assets with a surprisingly robust $45.1 million bid. 

That winning number was more than twice the $20 million “stalking horse” bid rendered back in early April by Canadian software company Vecima Networks, which moved in shortly after Casa Systems filed bankruptcy. 

Vecima, which had hoped Casa’s assets would accelerate its quest to run down Harmonic in the race for cable network virtualization, said it has assumed the role of backup bidder, with a bid of $44.95 million.

The sale of Casa’s cable tech business is part of a supervised, piece-by-piece bankruptcy court auction that has also seen Andover, Massachusetts-based Casa’s 5G mobile core and RAN assets sold to Lumine for $32.25 million, and Dallas-based DZS pay $7 million to buy NetComm, provider of fiber extension, fixed wireless access, home broadband and industrial Internet of Things products and patents.  

As for Hickory, North Carolina-based CommScope, it has battled its own debt demons in the aftermath of its $7.4 billion purchase of cable tech vendor Arris. 

However, extending itself further brings CommScope customer relationships with Casa client operators including Liberty Global, J:COM, Vodafone, and Canada's Rogers Communications and Vidéotron. 

“As a leader in the cable industry, we are quite pleased by the opportunity to acquire Casa’s cloud-native network solutions,” CommScope CEO Chuck Treadway said in a statement. “Adding Casa’s technology to our portfolio will allow us to provide a seamless transition for our combined customer base that utilizes both integrated and virtual CMTS products. This transaction provides stability to Casa’s customers while allowing CommScope to further grow our customer base as we enable customers to migrate to Distributed Access Architecture solutions on their own timeline.”

For its part, Vecima said: “the auction was a competitive daylong process that consisted of multiple rounds of bidding by Vecima and several other interested parties. Vecima conducted extensive due diligence prior to the auction and, based on those insights, made the decision at the end of the auction not to increase its bid any further when the proposed price was no longer reasonably supported by Vecima’s valuation of the assets.”

Canadian software company Vecima Networks aims to “challenge Harmonic” for control of cable’s virtualized network tech future with its $20 million "stalking horse" bid for bankrupt Casa Systems’ cable technology business, wrote Dell’Oro Group analyst Jeff Heynen. 

“Though Harmonic currently dominates the vCMTS market, holding 98% of global revenue in 2023, a good portion of that revenue comes from Comcast, which was the early mover in deploying vCMTS platforms in the industry,” Heynen said in a Wednesday-afternoon blog posting rendered shortly after Casa Systems announced its bankruptcy. 

“Charter is also planning to deploy Harmonic’s cOS broadband platform but has also signaled its desire to have multiple vendors’ vCMTS platforms in its network, which leaves the door open for Vecima to secure a portion of that business in addition to the RPD business it has already solidified there,” Heynen added. 

The cable network tech market is ripe with opportunity, with operators looking to deploy multi-gigabit-speed upgrades to their broadband networks, built around the new DOCSIS 4.0 standard and next-generation schemes that virtualize core appliances including the cable-modem termination system (CMTS) into software running on garden-variety computer servers, part of a broader alignment commonly referred to as Distributed Access Architecture" (DAA).

While Harmonic has emerged as an early leader of this new market, incumbent tech vendors of the old physical CMTS world, a list that also includes CommScope, have struggled to find traction. 

Last year, as Heynen noted, Casa Systems generated just $41 million from the business Toronto-based Vecima seeks to acquire, most of that money coming from licensing its traditional C100G Converged Cable Access Platform (CCAP) product. That was down from $81 million in 2022 and $115 million in 2021. 

However, through its Axyom-branded vCMTS software, Casa does have "DAA traction" with cable-operator clients including Rogers Communications, Vodafone, Liberty Global and Claro Colombia.

"From a product perspective, Vecima gains Casa’s Axyom vCMTS software, which it can use alongside its own Entra vCMTS platform to scale overall vCMTS deployments as they continue to expand at cable operators around the world," Heynen wrote. 

“What Vecima offers to the Casa cable unit is a renewed focus on the cable and fixed broadband markets, which was arguably missing at Casa as the company tried to balance R&D investments in its cable, vBNG, mobile core, and fixed wireless access product lines,” the analyst added. “With the focus and continued support by Vecima of Casa’s existing customer base, Vecima can potentially turn those customers into longer-term DAA customers.”

Canadian cable-tech vendor Vecima Networks is joining the vCMTS fray, competing in an emerging market that, early on, has been dominated by upstart Harmonic. 

Vecima this week introduced its Entra virtualized cable modem termination system, which is part of the cloud-native Entra Cloud software suite designed to transform expensive, power-hungry physical appliances on cable networks into applications running on garden-variety x86 servers. 

Entra is interoperable with Vecima’s widely deployed Remote PHY devices. 

Also read: Harmonic Reports 20% Broadband Segment Revenue Growth in Q4 as CableOS Customer Base Expands to 108

Harmonic has already signed deals with major tier-1 cable companies including Comcast and Charter Communications in the U.S., as well as Rogers Communications and Vodafone in Canada, to deploy its market-leading CableOS vCMTS platform. 

But with the vast majority of smaller cable operators (i.e. those not as big as Comcast and Charter) just ramping up on their upgrades to virtualized DOCSIS 4.0 configurations, the market is still young. Casa Systems and CommScope have also recently introduced vCMTS products. 

“Through over a decade of pioneering investment and development of Distributed Access Architecture, Vecima has built the comprehensive Entra portfolio with the singular purpose of supporting our operator partners as they transform their world-leading networks to the multigigabit era,” Vecima president and CEO Sumit Kumar said in a statement.

Canadian tech company Vecima Networks has announced the purchase of a large portion of Nokia’s cable access product portfolio.

The acquisition, terms for which weren’t announced, includes Espoo, Finland-based Nokia’s EPON and DOCSIS Provisioning over EPON (DPoE) products. Also included are Distributed Access Architecture technologies Nokia took over when it purchased startup Gainspeed in 2016.

Nokia will retain cable-related products including mobile, routing, transport, fiber, and fixed wireless access technology, along with network operations and customer experience-related solutions.

Vecima’s newly acquired DOCSIS DAA and EPON/DPoE technology and product portfolios will be integrated with its existing Entra-branded Distributed Access product suite.

Nokia employees associated with these technologies will be shifted to Vecima Networks, although it’s not clear as to how many of them will take the British Columbia-based company up on the offer.

“Our cable access solutions have played a very important role in helping to redefine next generation cable solutions and our customers' strategies for addressing evolving network demands using distributed architectures,” said Sandra Motley, president of fixed networks at Nokia, in a statement. “However, the industry continues to go through significant shifts, and we believe the timing is right to transition our cable access business to Vecima Networks. Vecima has the focus, resources and complementary product portfolio needed to support these changes and help operators move toward a Distributed Access Architecture.”

Added Sumit Kumar, president and CEO at Vecima Networks: “Nokia’s portfolio to be acquired aligns perfectly with Vecima Networks’ strategy to provide open, independent, and future-proof cable access solutions that support a multi-vendor ecosystem. The addition of these products and world-class talent broadens our DAA platform and adds 10G-EPON products to our portfolio. In addition to expanding the products and services we are providing to existing customers, we look forward to partnering with service providers around the globe we don’t currently do business with.”

Today’s viewers want to sit down, turn on the TV and watch their favorite content — whenever and wherever they like. This ties nicely into the offerings of over-the-top service providers and is driving traditional broadcasters to launch their own OTT offerings.

However, delivering content to an ever-growing number of devices while maintaining a smooth and consistent video experience without latency, buffering or image freezing isn’t easy. Delivering a quality of experience (QoE) on par with linear TV broadcast is the goal that OTT operators have long been striving toward.

One of the reasons OTT offerings haven’t been as successful as they could be is the consumer experience in the home. A big complaint about internet-protocol video in its early days was that it was tailored around a second-screen experience (mobile phones, tablets, laptops) and wasn’t a good experience on TV (or wasn’t available at all on TV). For IP to be viable as a main delivery point, viewers needed a set-top box, which the industry thought would eventually be replaced by smart TVs. But that hasn’t happened. Smart TVs are terribly fragmented, with different brands supporting different apps and giving viewers different app experiences.

Set-top boxes are here to stay. Their presence in the home makes it more difficult for consumers to switch to an alternative IP service, giving incumbent providers an advantage and a means to keep OTT providers out of the market for primary screen devices. The success of YouTube TV, for example, has been limited by its app-based functionality. Consumers don’t want to have to set up apps to work on their TVs or worry about which apps their TV supports to watch their favorite shows.

To increase their market share, OTT providers need to fix the customer experience in the home by replicating the ease of use of a set-top, which viewers become accustomed to. If they’re serious about targeting the primary-screen market, that means shipping STBs. They don’t need traditional custom-made STBs because they don’t need special RF connections. It could be an off-the-shelf Android TV box with the app preinstalled and everything set up so that the consumer simply plugs it into their TV, turns it on and it works.

Lowering Latency

The other major challenge to making IP as reliable and feature-rich as traditional broadcast video is latency. Viewers expect a consistent low-latency experience. When they change channels, they expect them to change relatively instantly. They don’t expect to have to wait for a stream to buffer. This is particularly important for live content like live sports — a key reason why viewers subscribe to traditional TV packages.

A range of technology advancements can reduce latency, including lower latency encoding techniques, lower latency player techniques, more aggressive buffering and using smaller group of pictures (GOP) sizes and segment sizes.

There’s currently a lot of noise around using WebRTC as a protocol rather than joint segmented HTTP delivery, which would give OTT providers much more control over content delivery. Traditional STBs operate on streaming rather than segmentation, which means they don’t have to worry about segmenting video or using multiple bit rates. With HTTP/3 support for WebRTC, this could be made available to OTT providers, which would be a game-changer for both latency and reliability.

CDNs — Public, Private or Hybrid?

Most OTT providers use public CDNs, but if a provider builds its own CDN — either by rolling out its own network or introducing its caches into network providers it partners with — it can achieve much more granular control over how the CDN operates and performs. If they’re using a public CDN, they have no control over how close their cache is to the customers that are important to them, how they’re configured or other variables that affect latency.

Another benefit to a private or hybrid CDN approach is the ability to monitor and analyze the CDN’s performance and content data. Monitoring the entire system — from ingest to multi-bit-rate encoding all the way to delivery — can help OTT providers design and configure their CDN in a way that lowers latency and makes it more reliable and successful overall.

To differentiate themselves and compete on a more equal footing with the incumbents, OTT providers must fix the customer experience in the home and take advantage of technological advancements to achieve lower latency delivery. Whoever figures out how to achieve this in the most economic and efficient way is most likely to be crowned the winner.

Kyle Goodwin is vice president, Product and Innovation at Vecima Networks.

Vecima Networks announced Tuesday (January 2) that it has closed its proposed $29 million acquisition of Concurrent Computer Corp.’s content delivery and storage business.

RELATED: Vecima Deals for Concurrent

The deal, announced in October 2017, will help Canada-based Vecima diversity further into the VOD and IP video content delivery sector, complementing a business that has been focused video decoders, products targeted to the commercial and hospitality industry, as well as DOCSIS 3.1-based network access gear.

Via the deal, Vecima will also inherit tech and product relationships that Concurrent has with MSOs such as Charter Communications and Altice USA, and obtain a relatively new platform that Concurrent has tailored to suit the needs of smaller cable operators.

RELATED: Concurrent Pitches Video ‘Springboard’ to Smaller Cable Ops

Concurrent sold its Real-Time business segment to Battery Ventures for $35 million in cash in May 2017.

Vecima said earlier that it expects that its business will generate more than $5.5 million in annualized adjusted EBITDA after closing, capturing synergies that include the removal of Concurrent’s public company costs.

“Each of our organizations has strengths and expertise that we bring to the table, and together we create a comprehensive networking and entertainment ecosystem capable of delivering class-leading quality, capacity and performance,” Sumit Kumar, president and CEO of Vecima, said in a statement. “With diversified products, a greater market reach, a superior growth profile, and a strong balance sheet, we are well positioned to provide enhanced value to our customers and our shareholders.”

Concurrent Computer Corp. announced this week that stockholders have given the thumbs up to a proposed sale of its content delivery and storage business to Vecima Networks.

That approval, occurring at a stockholder meeting held Wednesday (Dec. 13), arrives about two months after the deal was announced.

RELATED: Vecima Deals for Concurrent

Under the proposal, Vecima has put up $29 million in cash for Concurrent’s content delivery and storage business. Concurrent, based in Atlanta, works with operators such as Charter Communications and Altice USA, and recently introduced an offering tailored for smaller cable operators.

RELATED: Concurrent Pitches Video ‘Springboard’ to Smaller Cable Ops

In May, Concurrent sold its Real-Time business segment to Battery Ventures for $35 million in cash.

Vecima said earlier that it expects that its business will generate more than $5.5 million in annualized adjusted EBITDA after closing, capturing synergies that include the removal of Concurrent’s public company costs.

The deal for Concurrent should help to diversify and expand the video side of Vecima’s business, which today is focused on areas such as video decoders, products targeted to the commercial and hospitality industry, as well as DOCSIS 3.1-based access gear.

“The Board of Directors and our management team appreciate the overwhelming support of our proposals from Concurrent’s stockholders.  We expect to close the announced transaction with Vecima Networks by the end of the calendar year. ,” Derek Elder, president and CEO of Concurrent, said in a statement.

Looking to expand its presence with some tier 1 providers and bulk up its video technology portfolio, Vecima Networks announced Monday that it has inked a deal to acquire Concurrent Computer Corp.’s content delivery and storage business for $29 million in cash.

Concurrent, a VOD server and software pioneer based in Atlanta, counts Charter Communications and Altice USA among its tier 1 MSO customers. Earlier this year, Concurrent took aim at tier 2/3 operators with a new platform aimed at helping that group upgrade and advance their existing video platforms cost effectively, covering services such as VOD, live TV and cloud DVR.

RELATED: Concurrent Pitches Video ‘Springboard’ to Smaller Cable Ops

Concurrent’s delivery and storage business employs about 100 people and generated revenue of $27.6 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017. Vecima said it expects to continue operating the business under the Concurrent brand.

Concurrent and Vecima expect to close the deal before the end of 2017.

In May, Concurrent sold its Real-Time business segment to Battery Ventures for $35 million in cash.

Concurrent is expected to have a debt-free balance sheet with about $67 million in pro forma working capital and “substantial retained tax assets” at the time of the deal’s closing with Vecima, Derek Elder, Concurrent’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

Vecima said it expects that its business will generate more than $5.5 million in annualized adjusted EBITDA after closing, capturing synergies that include the removal of Concurrent’s public company costs.

Concurrent is expected to file a preliminary proxy statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission within 30 days. It said that a group of stockholders representing about 17% of the issued and outstanding shares of Concurrent common stock have agreed to vote in favor of the proposed deal.

Canada-based Vecima has specialized in products such as video decoders, gear targeted to the commercial and hospitality industry, as well as DOCSIS 3.1, including nodes tailored for cable’s emerging distributed access architectures.

“Vecima believes that the rapid growth in IPTV delivery across both MVPD private CDNs and OTT providers will continue to accelerate,” Sumit Kumar, Vecima’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “Concurrent is a recognized leader in storing, protecting, transforming and delivering media assets.  Adding their solutions to our industry leading broadband internet access platforms, will allow us to deliver an end to end, massively scalable video and data solution to the market.”