Alan Weinkrantz PR Web Log

CopperGate Communications Achieves Five Million HomePNA Chipset Milestone; Announces Purchase of Conexant's HomePlug AV PowerLine Technology

Client, CopperGate Communications has made two significant announcements.

1.  The shipment of 5 million HomePNA chipsets worldwide – making the company the leader in IPTV services over coax and phone wires.  Press release here.

2.  The purchase of the HomePlug AV business from Conexant Systems, Inc. [NASDAQ - CNXT]. Press release here.

CopperGate is now the first semiconductor company with home networking technologies supporting all three wire types – coax, phone and power lines.

Related media coverage here.

The HomePNA Blog has a very helpful post here which talks about G.hn's "Secret Sauce."

Industry Analysts, Charles Wolf with ABI Research blogs about both announcements here.

Momentum for CopperGate continues.  Stay tuned for more!

My New Coloumn in the San Antonio Express News

Starting today, I will have a monthly column in the Business Section of the San Antonio Express-News. 

I will be writing about various technology issues, innovation, disruption, PR, social media and because of my 3Screens blog, some coverage of AT&T. 

Today's column, addresses the shaping of AT&T's new legacy, which you may read here.

If you have ideas for future topics, let me know with an email or phone call to: alan at weinkrantz dot com or +210-820-3070 ext. 103.

This is a great opportunity to be part of a national news daily; one that I believe reflects well on the growing and vibrant economy of San Antonio and the really smart people who make it home.

Thanks for taking a look!

How To Pitch

How to pitch?

I still find the best way to pitch is very simple: 

1.  Send an email.
2.  Make your pitch no more than 2 sentences long.
3.  Pitch why it makes sense for the publication
4.  If you have to send the press release, embed it in the email or send a URL from your press room on your web site.

Sometimes will do a follow up call AFTER hours.  Yes, after hours. The notion is just to say something like, "hi, Fred, I know you get tons of pitches, but here is mine: I sent you an email this afternoon about _____ and our _______.  The email is from ______.  If there is an interest, give me a call at ________.   Thanks for listening to my voice mail and considering this story idea.

Yup, this really works and even if they are not interested (this time) you will show that you understand and care about how to approach a journalist and the volume of noise they have to contend and deal with.

Intel and TI Agree: G.hn Will Be the Next Standard For Home Networking

It’s great that Intel and TI have agreed that G.hn will be the next standard for home networking.

Yet, I’ve seen the coverage of HomeGrid and I believe the real story is lost in the noise – i.e. the fast pace and great progress of the G.hn standard in the ITU.

The ITU group creating this standard, which includes major telcos like AT&T and Verizon, manufacturers like Motorola and 2Wire, and home networking technology companies like client,  CopperGate and Intellon (not a client), has been meeting face to face monthly for many months and is on schedule to complete the draft by December 08.

Also, there is a bit of confusion about who is leading the charge. ITU is developing the g.hn standard, not HomeGrid.  HomeGrid is a special interest group (SIG) and only one of several SIGs in this space.  The jury is certainly still out on whether HomeGrid is the right companion SIG with the right rules and approach for G.hn. 

The good news is no matter what, everyone agrees that G.hn will soon deliver a universal home networking standard that supports all three wire types: coax, phone lines and power lines.

More on this can be found on http://homepnablog.typepad.com/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.hn

Paul Kapustka Launches New News & Commentary Site Aimed at Telecom / Internet / Public Policy

SIDECUT REPORTS is the news & commentary website for longtime tech journalist Paul Kapustka, most recently managing editor at GigaOM. 

Paul is combining his skills in journalism, taking it one step up from blogging and offering a product offering that he claims will be more economical than a traditional research firm.  Case in point: his first report described below is available for $149.00, which entitles readers to a year's worth of news flashes and report updates in the Wireless Broadband category of coverage.

The long-term goal of SIDECUT REPORTS is to provide an online home for long-form analysis of topics at the intersection of Telecommunications, the Internet and Public Policy.

Paul's first report, "Xohm Or Go Home: Why 2008 Is WiMax's Breakout Year in the U.S. -- Or Else!," the is the first of Sidecut Reports' planned list of in-depth looks into topics at the intersection of telecommunications, the Internet and public policy.

The WiMax report is based on several months of reporting, including in-person interviews at the most recent industry trade shows, as well as direct interviews with companies and executives from the product manufacturers and service providers in the WiMax arena. The end result is an editorially independent report that provides the reader with an in-depth look at the most current state of the WiMax market in the U.S., and how it might create business opportunities for enterprises, investors and entrepreneurs in markets including mobile Internet businesses, software development, and mobile device manufacturing.

But Wait.  There's More!

Sidecut Reports plans to offer three more reports in this calendar year, in the coverage catetgory areas of Public Policy, Internet Video Infrastructure, and Advanced Telephony. The next scheduled report is on the topic of "Network Neutrality." Full-site yearly subscriptions are also available, as are subscription discounts for students and professionals at non-profit organizations.

Stay tuned to the Sidecut Blog for ongoing analysis and more information as the site gets built out and congrats to Paul.

 

PodCamp San Antonio Takes Place This Coming Saturday, May 3

PodCamp San Antonio Takes Place This Coming Saturday, May 3

Free White Paper: The Art of Developing and Telling Your Company’s Story

Quite often when speaking to a prospective client, the first question I get is: “…so do you have the right connections in the media to get us coverage?” 

Are we connected?

Does our team have “good connections?”  Sure.  That’s the easy part of what we do. 

The Message.  The Story.  It’s The Hardest Part. 

Download the white paper here:

Download the_art_of_developing_and_telling_your_companys_story_ii.doc

Reporting For My Other Blog, 3Screens, Here's My Take on the AT&T Stockholder's Meeting

I’ve just come back from attending the AT&T stockholder meeting in San Antonio.  There’s lots to tell and share, and in the interest of time and in the interest of getting at least one post up on my blog, I am going to do two posts- one today and another one early next week.

Before I begin, just a caveat- if you are looking for insight on earnings per share, news on when the 3G iPhone will ship, and new technologies coming out of AT&T labs, you’ve come to the wrong place. 

This post is a quick summary of some of AT&T’s Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson’s comments in his State of the Company.  Next week, I will post on my observations of what I observed to be more of a town hall meeting, as opposed to this event being a traditional stockholder’s meeting.

See my post over at 3Screens here.

Keith Richards in Wonderful Ad For Louis Vuitton

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