The new deal expands upon an existing multi-year agreement for Comcast to buy set-top and networking equipment from Motorola, which includes standard cable boxes and high-definition digital video recorders.
The companies also announced that they would form two joint ventures focused on developing and licensing conditional access technologies, which enable cable providers to ensure that customers only receive subscribed video services. Motorola has granted the ventures a non-exclusive license for its conditional access platform MediaCipher.
This partnership with an industry leader like Motorola will help us to continue to aggressively advance our interactive digital platform and more rapidly develop and deploy video products, said Steve Burke, COO of Comcast.
The joint venture agreements, which are subject to customary closing conditions, are expected to be completed during the late first or early second quarter of 2005.
Motorola shares fell to $15.36, while Comcast rose to $33.13 at the close of Tuesday following the announcement.
