“The vast majority" of VoIP customers of Cablevision and Charter Communications don't buy batteries to back up the service when the power goes out, executives of the cable operators told FCC Public Safety Bureau officials, Charter said in an FCC filing. "Charter and Cablevision make significant efforts to educate their customers about the VoIP services they offer, including that such service will not work during a power outage without a backup battery." The filing was posted Tuesday in dockets including 14-174, which was related to an NPRM asking about "steps the Commission could take to safeguard continuity of communications throughout a power outage, including the possible adoption of new rules."

Comcast will launch an Ultra HD set-top later this year as it brings its Xfinity in UHD catalog to the X1 platform, the company said in a Wednesday news release. The Xi4 will deliver UHD content “directly to the television, enabling X1 customers to enjoy unlimited virtual 4K linear channels by creating personalized playlists from the Xfinity in UHD library,” Comcast said. It will follow that next year with the launch of a high-dynamic-range Xi5 set-top, Comcast said. Comcast representatives didn’t comment whether the Xi5 set-top will support an open HDR standard such as that being espoused by the UHD Alliance or a proprietary standard such as Dolby Vision. The Xi5 high-dynamic-range set-top will provide “increased color, contrast and brightness,” Comcast said. The deployment of Xfinity in UHD for the X1 platform will mean “our customers can easily and seamlessly enjoy some of the best 4K programming available today as part of their subscription with no additional equipment or costs,” Comcast Cable General Manager-Video Service Matt Strauss said. Comcast said it also plans to add hundreds of additional films and shows to its Xfinity in UHD catalog, including IMAX films and content from Starz, SyFy and USA. At the INTX cable show in Chicago, the operator demo'd other enhancements as it's trying to improve customer service (see 1505060012).

Comcast will create more than 5,500 customer service jobs as part of a new multiyear plan to improve customer service, it said Tuesday in a news release. The plan includes a goal by Q3 2015 of being always on time for customer appointments, it said. The company will “simplify billing and create better policies to provide greater consistency and transparency to customers” and invest in employee training, it said. “This transformation is about shifting our mindset to be completely focused on the customer,” said Neil Smit, CEO of Comcast Cable. The company's new job creation effort will kick off with 2,000 new employees hired to staff three new customer support centers in Albuquerque, Spokane and Tucson, Comcast said. The first new center -- in Albuquerque -- will be staffed with “bilingual employees who will support Spanish-speaking customers across the country,” Comcast said. The centers in Tucson and Spokane will be “operational” later this year, Comcast said. The company is tripling the size of its social media customer care team, hiring 250 new employees for its Xfinity stores, and automatically crediting customers $20 if a technician is late, it said. The customer service effort also includes an online service that will let customers track their service technicians, revamped Xfinity stores and increased training, Comcast said. In Chicago at INTX 2015, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts Tuesday demo'd new technologies designed to improve customer service (see 1505040059) after what he has called a disappointing end to the company's bid for Time Warner Cable (see 1505040059).

Cox Communications is offering gigabit-speed Internet service in parts of Omaha, Las Vegas and Orange County, California, after launching in the Phoenix area last fall, it said in a news release Tuesday. Cox looks to launch its G1gablast service in parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Virginia this summer, while aiming to offer it in all of its markets by the end of 2016. Cox said it continues to upgrade its current most-popular Internet packages: Cox High Speed Internet Preferred and Cox High Speed Internet Premier, doubling their speeds in 2014 for almost 75 percent of its customers.

USA Network said its content will be available on Apple TV via USA Now, the network’s TV Everywhere streaming product.

Hulu reached a deal with five pay-TV providers to offer its subscription streaming service directly to their subscribers on set-top boxes, Hulu said in a news release Wednesday. The multichannel video programming distributors are Armstrong, Atlantic Broadband, Mediacom, Midcontinent Communications and WideOpenWest, it said: "Customers who subscribe to Hulu will be able to view Hulu's full library of content in addition to live and on-demand TV."

Netflix will be available to Mediacom customers on their TiVo set-top boxes, Mediacom said in a news release Tuesday. The deal includes a direct interconnection, with construction costs paid by Mediacom, said Group Vice President-Legal Affairs Tom Larsen. The connection is expected to be completed this summer, the release said. To use the Netflix app, Mediacom’s TiVo customers will need a Netflix subscription.

Charter Communications and CSG extended their contract five years, through 2019, the provider of billing and customer-support services to cable and other operators said in a news release Tuesday. The deal "provides the framework for Charter to consolidate additional customers that it may gain through acquisition activities onto CSG’s billing solution," it said. Charter is expected to consider again trying to buy Time Warner Cable now that Comcast abandoned its deal for TWC in the face of regulatory scrutiny (see 1504240066).

A hearing on whether Cablevision discriminated against the Game Show Network was delayed by a month, now to start July 7 at 10 a.m., said the FCC administrative law judge overseeing the case. GSN has said the cable operator discriminated against it by not carrying the channel as widely as its own affiliated programming, which the plaintiff contends is similar (see 1110140062). The program carriage complaint case earlier was scheduled to start June 1. After the first day, successive days of hearings will start at 9:30 a.m., said the new order by Chief FCC ALJ Richard Sippel posted Thursday in docket 12-122. Also last week, Cablevision asked Sippel to dismiss the case (see 1504300051).

Viacom agreed to use Rentrak’s Advanced Demographics measurement service to measure its TV ratings and VOD usage, the vendor said Friday. The company said it draws its measurement information from more than 31 million TVs in 210 local markets. Viacom will be able to use Rentrak’s technology to “precisely target consumer audiences” and to support its “advanced data approach, including the recently announced Viacom Vantage, a data-driven advertising product that gives advertisers the flexibility to define and reach custom audiences,” Rentrak said. It "strengthens our insights arsenal and our ability to unlock new levels of targeting,” said Viacom Executive Vice President-Strategic Insights and Research Colleen Fahey Rush in a Rentrak news release.