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UTSTARCOM EXPANDS IPTV LEADERSHIP IN CHINA WITH NEW CONTRACT IN SHANXI PROVINCE WITH CHINA TELECOM ALAMEDA, Calif., January 24, 2007 UTStarcom, Inc. (Nasdaq: UTSI), a global leader in IP-based, end-to-end networking solutions and services, today announced a contract with China Telecom (CTC) to deploy its RollingStream" end-to-end IPTV solution for a new commercial IPTV network in China s Shanxi Province.
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UTStarcom continues to build on its leadership in the IPTV market in China and this contract is further validation of the strength, reliability and security of our RollingStream end-to-end IPTV system, said Ying Wu, president and chief executive officer of UTStarcom China. Many of our initial IPTV deployments in China are currently undergoing network expansions as demand for the service has grown. Additionally, we are seeing new deployments emerge as fixed-line operators are realizing the potential for deploying IPTV services to combat subscriber churn and increase average revenue per user. At ITU Telecom World 2006 in Hong Kong last month, UTStarcom s RollingStream IPTV solution was named the best IPTV solution worldwide by Communications Weekly, a leading publication under the guidance of the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) in China. UTStarcom was also awarded the Development Contribution Award for its efforts for IPTV standardization in China.
IPTV Take-up in Mainland China Will Exceed 23 Million Subscribers by 2012 Technological innovations are rapidly redrawing the Chinese telco landscape. Operators are compelled to diversify in order to thrive in the competitive environment. The November 2006 announcement of Jiangsu Telecom's |
network expansion effort to meet subscribers' demand for IPTV, VOD, and other advanced IP services was just the latest in a similar series of moves to support multi-play service offerings. According to ABI Research's broadband research analyst Serene Fong, "More operators than ever are offering multiple services in an attempt to retain customers and to increase revenue. Telecom operators are venturing into the TV industry, while cable operators move into the voice business." IPTV is the Chinese government's platform of choice because it is aligned to its long-term plan of unifying broadband, Internet, and television. Hence the future of the industry continues to be viewed optimistically. More resources will also be allocated to making IPTV a success because it is to play an important role in multimedia communications and upcoming major events in China. According to Fong, "The growth of IPTV will remain modest for now, and take off only after 2008. Adoption will be boosted by major events such as the Beijing Olympics in 2008, and then the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai." At the same time, China's flourishing broadband environment paves the way for IPTV to reach out to the potentially huge addressable market. In a new study, ABI Research forecasts the IPTV take-up in mainland China to pass the 23 million subscriber mark by 2012. For now, however, IPTV has to cope with certain bottlenecks that have been restricting growth. "While the IPTV service is regarded by the industry as a potential revenue generator, lack of content may prove a short-term barrier to increasing uptake rapidly," says Fong. "Current program content, |
| 8 Feb 2007 | Definitions FREE at www.IPTVDictionary.com |
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which is strictly controlled by media authorities and the government, is not rich enough to attract paying users, and overseas content, which is restricted and difficult to get approval for, does not help alleviate the situation." |
Mega Media and Voom's HD content is currently available on SingTel's IPTV technical trial, which began in November 2006. Mr Jonathan Foo, Managing Director of Mega Media, said: "This agreement is an affirmation of our position as a leading producer and aggregator of made-in-HD content for the region. HD is the future of television, and that is what we are about. Singapore is leading the push into this new frontier and we are excited that we can offer local audiences the true HD experience."
Mr Quek Peck Leng, SingTel's Executive Vice President of Consumer, said: "HD is set to be the next wave for consumers and SingTel wants to shape the Singapore market with the most HD programming and the best HD content. For example, new local content channels like Sling HD will offer a quality programming alternative that can resonate with the Singapore viewers."
"The collaboration with Mega Media and its partners will help differentiate us when we launch our IPTV service later this year. Our customers can look forward to quality HD content as well as on-demand HD programmes so that they can watch what they want whenever they want. "SingTel is pleased to help stimulate the Singapore media industry and we hope to create long-term value and strategic benefit for all industry players and ultimately, the consumers," Mr Quek added. Mr Glenn Oakley, Rainbow Media's Senior Vice President, Business Development, said: "We recognized the opportunity to both expand VOOM HD further into Asia and fill a growing void for quality high-definition programming when we initially decided to collaborate with Mega Media. Today's news marks |
a major step in our progress and is a testament to our ability to bridge oceans in working together to meet this demand."
Added Mr Greg Moyer, General Manager of VOOM HD Networks: "We are pleased to see our joint efforts help SingTel in its effort to lead Southeast Asia into High Definition.
We are delighted that VOOM HD will be included as SingTel rises to the forefront of the 'next generation channels' community and further cements its status as Asia's leading communications group."
The HD format offers images that are five times clearer than the existing Standard Definition (SD) TV images. To fully achieve the quality of HD, programmes must be shot and produced in HD format from the beginning and not just by up-converting SD images. Having been launched in the United States, China and Britain, HDTV deployment in Singapore kicked off in June last year, making Singapore the first in Southeast Asia to start public HDTV trials.
"This collaboration marks a milestone in the ongoing nationwide rollout of HDTV. It affirms that broadcasters and content providers see a compelling business case in providing quality HD programmes and services to consumers. Mega Media's exciting slate of HD channels on SingTel's IPTV service will also help to add diversity of content and provide more entertainment media options for the viewing public," said Mr Yeo Chun Cheng, Chief Information Officer, Media Development Authority of Singapore. |
| 10 Feb 2007 | Definitions FREE at www.IPTVDictionary.com |
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Akimbo Video-on-Demand Brings Yahoo! Video to the Television
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Akimbo subscribers will appreciate the option to watch the latest Internet video sensations like 'Camping Out for PS3' on TV in the comfort of the living room."
This holiday season Akimbo unveiled the brand new RCA Akimbo Player, an Internet video-on-demand set-top box retailing for $199.99 on Amazon.com, at Fry's Electronics and on Frys.com. Akimbo is also accessible from the Online Spotlight area of Microsoft Windows Media Center 2005 PCs and will soon be available on the AT&T Homezone home entertainment service.
Swisscom Claims Over 20,000 Orders for Bluewin TV
Installation capacity to be increased Extreme demand has unfortunately led to waiting times for installation of up to six weeks. Installations are currently running |
at over 1,500 a week. Dates are agreed individually with the customer. Swisscom is looking to further improve its processes so that Bluewin TV can be delivered to new customers within three to four weeks. To increase capacity, installations are also being carried out on Saturdays. Swisscom is working with partner companies to carry out the installations: a further 100 technicians are to be added to the current team of 300-plus technicians. Ensuring the availability of routers also has to be addressed. Delivery bottlenecks may be encountered in some parts of French-speaking Switzerland. Positive market response - focus on residential customers Bluewin TV has been well received by customers, who appreciate, above all, the attractive content and the fact that the service is easy to use. Related market players such as retailers have also responded very positively. Distribution is to be stepped up gradually but for the time being Swisscom is focusing its efforts on market launch in the residential customer segment. The company is deferring installations for interested distribution partners and their distribution networks to the second half of 2007. |
| 12 Feb 2007 | Definitions FREE at www.IPTVDictionary.com |
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QUARTICS AND MEDIAZONE ALIGN Las Vegas, Jan. 8, 2007 - Quartics, a provider of video processing solutions to enable streaming media over wireless and wired networks, and MediaZone, an online broadcaster, today announced they will cooperatively market their products to demonstrate how customers can easily watch online video from a PC on traditional video and television displays. More and more video content is becoming available online and this trend is only expected to continue as technology advances and the Internet becomes more widely accepted as a reliable and cost effective video distribution medium. At the same time, consumers are increasingly interested in more flexible viewing options. Quartics' PC2TV enables consumers to access any content including streaming or downloaded video in any format on the PC and seamlessly view it on their display of choice. With PC2TV, consumers can take advantage of the wide array of programming and content options accessible via PCs and experience all forms of media directly on their TV or other display. "Quartics' PC2TV solutions are a natural fit for MediaZone," said Andria Tay, director of marketing for MediaZone. "MediaZone converges the best of television with the interactivity of the Internet and allows communities to form around shared passions online. Now Quartics' technology brings our experience |
one step further into the digital home by enabling consumers to enjoy MediaZone's Social TV on the screen of their choice."
"Our co-marketing arrangement with MediaZone demonstrates the full revolutionary power of our PC2TV solutions," said Safi Qureshey, chairman and CEO of Quartics. "As IP broadcast continues to grow in popularity, MediaZone will be able to further differentiate itself by allowing customers more viewing options." Quartics' PC2TV solution will give MediaZone subscribers unprecedented flexibility with their entertainment experience. Users simply plug a hardware adapter into the video input line of a television, monitor, or projector, and within a matter of seconds the PC is able to project rich quality video and audio to the screen of choice. No other solution on the market offers this degree of elegance or ease-of-use in liberating PC-resident content.
LAS VEGAS - Jan. 8, 2007 - At the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Microsoft Corp. today announced a new solution that will bring together two of its leading entertainment products, the Xbox 360™ gaming console and the Microsoft® TV IPTV Edition software platform, to create a |
unique digital entertainment offering. IPTV on Xbox 360™ is expected to be available to consumers by holiday season 2007 and will be offered by providers that are deploying TV services over broadband networks based on the IPTV Edition software platform. The solution was unveiled during Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates' CES keynote address Jan. 7.
The integration of a video gaming console with Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) services is intended to deliver a first-of-its-kind entertainment experience. IPTV on Xbox 360 is expected to give consumers all the advantages of an advanced TV service along with the benefits of next-generation gaming, as well as unique new capabilities that the integrated solution brings. Xbox Live®, the largest online social network in the living room, will be seamlessly integrated into the experience, providing consumers with a wide range of community-based features, such as voice chat, sending and receiving text and voice messages, and accessing Xbox Live Marketplace, all while watching TV. For example, while a TV viewer is enjoying his favorite football game, he can receive a message from a friend inviting him to a join voice chat while watching the game, or to play a game of their own with EA SPORTS™ "Madden NFL 07" on Xbox Live. "Both Xbox 360 and Microsoft TV IPTV Edition by themselves deliver unique and exciting entertainment experiences today, but IPTV on Xbox 360 is truly a solution that is greater than the sum of its parts and will enable even more exciting experiences to delight consumers, service providers, content providers and game developers alike," said Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division. "By integrating these industry-leading solutions, we are delivering on our promise to drive innovation and enable new connected entertainment experiences for consumers in a way that only Microsoft can." With the addition of IPTV Edition functionality, Xbox 360 builds on its position as the centerpiece for high-definition digital entertainment in the living room, offering the |
| 14 Feb 2007 | Definitions FREE at www.IPTVDictionary.com |
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best in next-generation games, TV and movies along with the ability to share experiences online with the industry-leading online game network, Xbox Live. Xbox 360 continues to extend its lead with more than 10.4 million consoles sold in 37 countries since launch.
The Microsoft TV IPTV Edition software platform enables a best-in-class digital TV service that offers advanced features such as instant channel zapping, a rich and responsive user interface, video on demand with branded video-on-demand storefronts, digital video recording and high-definition television. Some of the world's largest telecommunications service providers have chosen IPTV Edition as their IPTV software solution, with scale commercial deployments currently under way with AT&T in the United States, BT Group PLC in the United Kingdom, Deutsche Telekom in Germany, T-Online in France and Swisscom in Switzerland.
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browser on Nintendo Wii featuring Jaeminara™ and Funitto™ contents from a world leader in childhood education, Hansol Education.
Based in Seoul, Korea and with 200 branch offices, Hansol Education develops early learning programs to help children reach their full potential, and provides services throughout South Korea, China, Thailand and Singapore. "We are excited to provide young children with the opportunity to facilitate the holistic education, which focuses on physical, cognitive, emotion, and social skills," said Robert
Yae, COO of ThinkOut Solution. "We believe KidsLand is an excellent playground for helping and educating kids to reach their unlimited potential. We have tested the contents specifically to work with Nintendo Wii using Opera browser. Our engineering team is currently working to optimize the contents for Nintendo
Wii." ThinkOut Solution is scheduled to fully launch KidsLand contents from San Diego, California on March, 2007 to children in the United States.
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Copyright 2007 Althos Inc. All rights reserved.
