17 September 2002 ?- Tandberg Television, Amsterdam, is working with Cisco Systems, to deliver Triple Play (video, voice and data) Metro Ethernet over fibre solutions to operators in Italy and Norway. Tandberg is a provider of open solutions for digital broadcasting and broadband.
Tandberg's iTTV broadband delivery platform will operate alongside Cisco's Metro Ethernet broadband access network to help enable Italian operator, Fastweb and Norwegian utility company, Lyse to deliver TV and Video on Demand (VOD) over their broadband networks, complimenting next-generation internet and IP telephony services.
"To attract subscribers, Triple Play Metro Ethernet over fibre operators need to include broadcast quality television into their mix to build new revenue generating services. By collaborating with Cisco we can provide broadband operators with end-to-end solutions that increase average revenue per user and reduce churn," says Johnny Dolvik, Tandberg's director of Broadband and Cable.
"The combination of our IP and Metro Ethernet expertise in delivering triple play services over converged Metro networks and Tandberg's video track-record is a solid platform on which operators such as Lyse and Fastweb can build profitable business models and help generate incremental revenue streams," said Mark de Simone, VP technology and solutions marketing, EMEA for Cisco Systems.
Fastweb is controlled by e.Biscom SpA, Italy's first broadband telecommunications and media services company, and it is building the nation's first next-generation broadband network. Fastweb delivers a Triple Play combination of high speed internet, telephony and television, via its Metro Ethernet network which is built on a Cisco Metro Ethernet and IP-based infrastructure.
The Italians' passion for football was a key driver in the network design, requiring the system to be able to take in MPEG-2 satellite feeds of football matches from Stream and Tele+, decode them and re-encode to a lower bit rate, while maintaining picture quality, for onwards transmission over the IP network to the home.
Lyse is a power utility company based in Stavanger, Norway, that serves 110,000 customers in south west Norway with gas and electricity. The company has recently commenced trials of a broadband triple play service (Video, Voice and Data) over fibre to the home. Following market research amongst 1,100 households in its community earlier this year, 500 households have subscribed to the pay-trial of high-speed internet, telephony and TV.
The commercial trial, launched in September 2002, utilises a Cisco IP-based Metro Ethernet switching network built along Lyse's existing power lines, with a Tandberg Television iTTV delivery platform for TV and VOD services. Forty channels of quality TV are being delivered to subscribers who are paying in the region of EUR85 per month.