Pace buys Latens, strengthens its RG/set-top box middleware portfolio

Pace is on an acquisition tear in 2010. First, there was Bewan and 2Wire, and news came this morning that they have purchased Latens Systems. In addition to a portfolio of cardless conditional access products, Latens is more recently known for solutions that transition traditional cable TV to IP, and to allow for multi-screen distribution of content in the home.

More Set-top Box/Home Network Convergence: Netgem is Evaluating the Purchase of Pirelli

There are certainly synergies that exist between companies in the set-top box and residential gateway markets, and the acquisitions have followed, with a particular focus on the European market. First, there was NDS and Jungo back in late 2006. Pace Micro has been on a tear in 2010, acquiring both Bewan Systems and 2Wire. Of course, one cannot forget Technicolor, which brings requisite hardware, software, and content delivery to the table.

Now, Netgem has confirmed that it is evaluating the purchase of Pirelli Broadband Solutions. Pirelli Broadband Solutions specialises in products and platforms for the broadband connected homes and offices. Its business covers residential access gateways, hybrid IPTV set-top boxes , remote management and embedded middlewares.

Pace is buying 2Wire

After buying Bewan Systems SA in March, Pace is now strengthening its telco residential gateway portfolio by buying 2Wire Inc. for an estimated $475 million. This will provide Pace, with entry into the U.S. market, as 2Wire has supported AT&T's triple-play and IPTV deployments for ten years. This acquisition is a clear example of the importance of home networking and managed services to today's service provider community.

Convergence of the set-top box and RG?

We've been speculating for some time now about whether we are going to see the convergence between set-top box and RG functionality. In reports such as Set-top Boxes: Outlook and Connected Home: Global Outlook, we interviewed companies from both the service provider and the CPE side to identify the key catalysts and timing for the "all-in-one" box that
incorporates all data, communications, and entertainment access would impact their services and costs. Drivers for such deployments are the cable industry’s move away from all MPEG video delivery to IP and cost-savings – the one-box unit might allow for lower-cost or even no set-top boxes to be deployed. Today, the economic model for such deployments is only viable for households having three or more set-top boxes, only 17% of all U.S. digital cable households (14% of all broadband households).

Even as deployed separately, there are many synergies that the video-centric set-top box and the data-centric RG can leverage. It's probably one reason why a company such as Pace plc is purchasing Bewan, a residential gateway developer. Pace sees the acquisition as a way to enhance the converged services of operators and to allow entry into Middle Eastern and North African markets.