INTERNET
Digisoft signs IPTV deal with US firm
14-09-2007
by Emmet Ryan
Cork-based Digisoft has signed a deal with Arizona-based ATCi to aid the US firm's rollout of an IPTV service.
The Cork firm will provide ATCi (Antenna Technology Communications) with set-top boxes and software for network operators to help manage the IPTV service. ATCi currently provides satellite download stations for television stations across the globe. The equipment from Digisoft will allow them to pick up satellite signals.
The deal will ultimately enable ATCi to expand its business to provide an IPTV service. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
"We're pushing into the global market and to have large established firms in this industry like ATCi pick us up is fantastic. It's an opportunity for Digisoft to become a global leader in the market," Fintan McKenna, Digisoft's senior vice president of business development, told ENN.
The IPTV system being developed by the two firms is targeted at US Tier 2 and Tier 3 telcos.
"With our partnership with Digisoft, ATCi will be able to deliver cost-effective, highly customisable IPTV Ecosystems to our customers" said Eric Luttermoser of ATCi. "The Digisoft platform will allow us to create custom solutions and applications, deliver targeted relevant advertising to consumers, and create a compelling product offering which will increase ARPU [average revenue per user] and drive customer satisfaction."
McKenna said the deal had been struck at a key time for the IPTV sector. "This is a critical transition point in the IPTV industry, the first generation of IPTV was all about delivery of MPEG2 standard definition video; the new generation of IPTV is much more exciting, marked by the roll out of MPEG4 high definition video."
"Telcos and broadband operators are now looking much more closely at the additional services that can be layered on top of the video offering, not just to increase ARPU but to differentiate their service offering from that of cable and satellite operators," he said. "We are very pleased with our global partnership with ATCi, who are a strategic part of our channel strategy at this very exciting time in the industry."
Digisoft was found in 2000 with headquarters in Cork and offices in the US, Holland, Singapore and New Zealand.
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