Littleton, Colo. -- Tele-Communications Inc.'s Headend
in the Sky will be able to offer a comprehensive digital package to operators through
deals that it has reached with General Instrument Corp. and the National Cable Television
Cooperative, officials said last week.
Under the new agreements, small operators will be eligible
to get a combination of volume-driven discounts on GI headend equipment and GI digital
consumer terminals, along with rebates on HITS launch support and HITS digital training --
an eight-hour course.
As part of the deal, GI will provide national access
control interfaced with operators' billing systems.
The NCTC will help to draw up carriage agreements and get
network approvals for new digital launches by small MSOs.
In a prepared statement, NCTC president Michael Pandzik
said, "Our members have been waiting for a package like this, which affords them the
capabilities of larger systems."
