Global Triumvirate Brings IPTV Solution to Market

By Erik Linask

Associate Editor

 

Three of the communications industry’s most familiar names have aligned to establish a global partnership and promote their combined carrier-class triple play and IPTV (News - Alert) service delivery solution. 

 

Alcatel and Microsoft, already collaborating on an IPTV ecosystem, have added HP to their partnership, further extending the robustness of their solution. The move solidifies HP’s place in the triple play space and will offer carriers looking a deploy triple play a single solution backed by three solid brands. 

 

HP will bring its optimized server solutions to the relationship — its HP ProLiant and HP BladeSystem servers — to support and optimize the performance and scalability of the Microsoft (News - Alert) TV IPTV Edition. HP’s servers provide enhanced reliability and improve network efficiency while making it easier for customers to manage their networks.  They are designed to create a total life cycle management environment and lower TCO. 

 

Microsoft TV IPTV Edition is an integrated and comprehensive software platform developed specifically to deliver broadcast-quality video and new, integrated TV services over broadband networks.

 

The platform combines innovative features, like instant channel change (ICC) and multiple picture in picture (PIP) with traditional TV services, like broadcast programming, VOD, and DVR.  The software is developed to integrate seamlessly and economically with other IP-based communications and media services, like data and VoIP services. 

 

Alcatel (News - Alert)’s network experience helps global operators transform their networks and deliver personalized, interactive services to enable a more desirable end user experience. 

 

Building on Alcatel’s broadband and IP networking, and multimedia applications technology, its solution enables end users to enjoy many of the revolutionary services service providers are touting — including video on demand, personal TV, community channels, online gaming, and sharing of music, photos, and home videos, all delivered simply and seamlessly via a range of devices and networks.

 

“By leveraging HP’s proven server solutions, we can provide deeper levels of integration throughout each piece of the triple play value chain,” said Monika Maurer, President of Alcatel’s fixed solutions activities. “This enables us to provide solutions to our customers that truly address their needs and help them reduce the time to market, cost and complexity associated with sophisticated triple play deployments.”

 

In addition to providing optimized server solutions, the three companies will also establish joint sales and marketing activities. Alcatel will feature specific bundled server solutions incorporating HP ProLiant and pre-integrated HP OpenView IT element management software in its end-to-end triple play offering.

 

“[This] announcement demonstrates the growing momentum of the IPTV industry,” said Christine Heckart, general manager of marketing for the Microsoft TV Division. “Service providers benefit from increased system performance and enhanced architecture scalability that result when industry-leading companies such as HP join the IPTV ecosystem.”

 

The combination of Alcatel’s network experience, HP’s proven server solutions and Microsoft’s software expertise and comprehensive IPTV Edition is expected to speed time to market for IPTV services while improving system performance and architecture scalability for telecommunications service providers.

 

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