Comcast to Buy Motorola Equipment

Comcast Corp., the largest U.S. cable television operator, said it would buy more than $1 billion of TV set-top boxes and networking equipment from Motorola Inc.

Motorola will provide Philadelphia-based Comcast with high- and standard-definition digital video recorders, the companies said. They also will form two ventures to develop and sell so-called conditional access systems, which let cable operators ensure that customers get only the services to which they subscribed. The agreements for the ventures will be completed in the first half, the companies said.

Motorola fell 4 cents to $15.36 on the NYSE. Comcast rose 22 cents to $33.65 on Nasdaq.