BigBand Networks Inc.BBND

Morningstar Rating

Stock Research and Analysis

by Alex Dannin

BigBand Networks is a leading provider of broadband equipment that delivers television services more efficiently than traditional network technology. Its early leadership position has allowed it to win an impressive list of customers and increase revenue rapidly. Read more

Bulls Say

BigBand is a leader in switched broadcast digital video technology. The firm is currently the vendor with the most equipment in commercial deployment.

Cable operators are just beginning their initial rollouts of BigBand's switched video equipment. The firm should benefit as more operators adopt switched video to free up network capacity.

Given the ongoing consolidation in the telecom equipment market, BigBand could be viewed as a takeover candidate by a larger firm looking to compete in the high-growth switched broadcast niche. Read more

Bears Say

BigBand operates in a competitive environment against companies such as Cisco and Motorola, both of which have greater financial resources, larger installed equipment bases, and broader distribution channels.

BigBand's sales are highly concentrated with a small number of carriers and cable operators. In 2008, five customers accounted for 75% of sales. Such concentration of revenue leads to sales and earnings volatility.

Comcast selected Arris, a BigBand competitor, in the first of several contracts for cable equipment. Although several opportunities remain to win business from Comcast, this is not a good omen for BigBand. Read more

Strategy

BigBand's strategy is to expand its footprint by installing its main networking equipment into service providers' networks. It then sells higher-margin software upgrades and add-on components that allow customers to deploy additional video services. Read more

Management

BigBand was founded in December 1998 by Amir Bassan-Eskenazi and Ran Oz, two former senior executives from Optibase OBAS, an Israel-based developer of video encoding software and hardware. The rest of the company's management team is seasoned with tech industry veterans. Read more

Profile

Founded in 1998, BigBand Networks develops and sells video networking equipment. The company's products offer a number of advanced video solutions, including switched digital video technology, which enables service providers to transmit video channels to subscribers only when they are in the process of watching those channels, thereby conserving network bandwidth. Read more

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

Zip Code

Create Password

Verify Password

(6-15 characters; case sensitive)

What is your occupation or job title?

Select...

Your registration indicates agreement to the terms of use.

Housing Hurts, Merger Misses, and ETF High Jinks
Watch more