Comcast has placed orders for an undisclosed number of Motorola SBV5220 modems, Motorola representatives said. The modems will be used in conjunction with Comcast's Digital Voice offering, which costs $39.95 per month including unlimited local and long-distance calling. Users will not have to pay to upgrade.
VoIP's reputation has generally suffered from two criticisms: first, that the service does not allow the use of location-based 911 services without configuration from the user, and second, that the service's modems and routers are susceptible to power outages. The SBV5220, a combination cable modem and phone adapter often referred to as an embedded Multimedia Terminal Adapter (eMTA), solves that problem with its lithium-ion battery back-up, which provides up to eight hours of extended battery life.
"The rise in VoIP services and folks using VOiP to replace the primary landline [was the reason we created this new modem]," said Paul Alfieri, a spokesperson for Motorola. "Landlines have power already in the line so should your power go out, you can still make and receive phone calls. So this is just a way to deliver more comparable service."
Comcast will offer the new modem to customers later this year with Comcast Digital Voice, an IP-based service that uses the company's broadband network rather than the Internet to transmit phone calls. Comcast has offered Digital Voice since late 2004 but up until now has only provided modems made by ARRIS, a Canadian company.
"ARRIS and Motorola are our two eMTA partners that we've announced to date," said Jeanne Russo, a Comcast spokeswoman. "They both have the battery back up. It's an important requirement for our Digital Voice service."
Comcast's first-quarter earnings reported over 416,000 Digital Voice customers. Cox Communications, one of Comcast's main competitors, reportedly has over 1.5 million customers on their Digital Telephone plan but the company does not use eMTAs, instead installing a Network Interface Unit (NIU) to the side of customer's homes. Cox provides back-up power so that their NIUs are not susceptible to power outages.
Motorola currently sells modems without lithium-ion back-ups to all of the major cable companies but Comcast is the first to order the SBV5220. It can service up to two phone lines in the home using standard RJ-11 telephone connectors, as well as connect to a computer with either an Ethernet cable or USB data port.
Users must also own a phone equipped with its own battery backup to be able to place calls during a power outage. Some wired phones are also powered solely by the phone line.
Editor's Note: Through an editing error, a previous version of the article erroneously stated that the Motorola modem was the first modem with battery backup that Comcast had marketed.
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