CONNECTIONS™ addresses business strategies and new technologies that leverage consumer interest in TV Everywhere services

Parks Associates reports TV Everywhere services are gaining popularity, with over 40% of U.S. broadband households very positive on these services, which will be a prominent topic at the upcoming CONNECTIONS™: The Digital Living Conference and Showcase.

CONNECTIONS™ includes multiple sessions on New Media and Digital Content:

• TV Everywhere and Online Video
• Mobile Internet and Cloud Services
• Trends in User Interfaces
• TV and Online Video Advertising Metrics
• DRM, Conditional Access, and Payment Models

Other Event Sessions:

Entertainment Platforms & Value-Added Services

• Digital Home Technical Support Services
• Digital Lifestyles
• Service Provider Innovation
• The Service Provider and the Connected Home
• Innovations & Investments: Venture Capitalist Insights

Consumer Electronics

• Design Elements for Connected CE
• Monetizing Connected CE
• The Future of the Set-top Box
• 3DTV
• TV Technology in the New Age of Consumer Buying

Home Systems & Controls

• Residential Energy Management
• Getting Consumers to Care about Home Controls
• Business Models for Energy Management
• Architectures and Implications for the Home Area Network
• Energy Management as a Key Application for Home Controls

For more information, visit www.connectionsus.com or contact sales@parksassociates.com, 972-490-1113.

Cisco Announces Agreement to Acquire Starent Networks

Cisco and Starent Networks announced a definitive agreement for Cisco to acquire Starent Networks. Starent Networks is a leading supplier of IP-based mobile infrastructure solutions targeting mobile and converged carriers. The Mobile Internet is at an inflection point as IP-enabled Smartphones and other connected mobile devices gain rapid acceptance. Service Providers have been actively investing in this market as global mobile data traffic is expected to more than double every year through 2013, according to the Cisco Visual Networking Index.

Starent Networks' mobile infrastructure solutions play an important role in enabling Service Providers to scale their mobile infrastructure and monetize their investments via differentiated experiences. The company provides the multimedia intelligence, core network functions and services to manage access from any 2.5G, 3G, and 4G radio network to a mobile operator's packet core network. Starent Networks' access-independent technology is deployed in CDMA2000 (1X, EV-DO), UMTS/HSPA and WiMax networks.

Prior to the close, Cisco and Starent Networks will continue to operate as separate companies. Upon completion of the transaction, Starent Networks will become the new Mobile Internet Technology Group.