Like many industries, cost, quality and convenience are big issues facing broadcasters and content providers interested in tapping into the content-rich Miami market. NewCom International President & COO Jaime Dickinson discusses how his company is addressing these needs.

 BD: Can you provide some background on NewCom? JD: NewCom is a global communications transport company and when it comes to telecommunications, we focus on providing top platform technology and reliable 24x7 support that enables companies to outsource for their voice and data communications needs without making a large investment. On the video side, our biggest strengths are our response time, our pricing and our one-stop solution.

BD: What specific services does NewCom provide content providers? JD: We offer a fast, cost-efficient solution that covers everything they need. On the transport side, we offer video uplink/downlink services, video fiber connectivity to Latin America, Europe and the U.S., and global transport via satellite and IP. Because of our strategic location in Miami, we were getting a lot of requests from Latin America broadcasters for a complete solution that includes EPS photographers and studio space so we recently added those services to accommodate these needs. We have a state-of-the-art studio for editing or transmitting live events, and have cameramen available for use in Miami, New York and other large markets.

BD: Is there a big demand for Miami-based broadcasting services? JD: Definitely ― especially from Latin America because let�s face it: Miami has such a large Latino population that it is an extension of Latin America. We have sports or news events that broadcasters from Latin America want to cover but it gets very expensive to send up a cameraman, haul up all of the equipment and take it through customs. And then there is the question of where they go to edit their material or broadcast commentary on the day�s events. Next to us, the closet studio space is currently in a community north of here. Our facility is close to downtown and features all of the platforms and technology they need ― giving them a more convenient solution at a great price.

BD: What is the biggest issue facing the video industry? JD: The three big issues are cost, capacity and quality. Everyone is concerned about cost. With the global economy the way it is right now, even if companies are doing well they have every excuse to go into panic mode and cut costs ― so the ability to provide cost savings is key. And with so much demand, we are starting to face challenges like lack of bandwidth capacity. To address this, NewCom is looking ahead to technology compression such as MPEG- 4 that requires half the bandwidth requirements as the current MPEG-2 standard. The one-time upfront costs are more expensive ― but on a monthly recurrence, we see lots of savings while maintaining quality. Cost, quality and efficiency are what it is all about ― and what NewCom does best.