Rochester Telephone taps TANDBERG TELEVISION video headend for IPTV over FTTP

Oct. 24, 2006
OCTOBER 24, 2006 -- Rochester is preparing for commercial launch of the IPTV service during the fourth quarter of this year.

OCTOBER 24, 2006 -- Rochester Telephone, an Indiana-based communications provider, has selected TANDBERG Television as its video headend provider for a new IPTV service over a fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) network that will serve its Indiana ILEC footprint.

By leveraging TANDBERG Television products, Rochester Telephone says it now is able to deliver triple-play services and high-definition programming to subscribers.

The Rochester Telephone agreement marks the ninth TANDBERG Television IPTV deployment in the state of Indiana, say TANDBERG representatives. The TANDBERG Mediaplex-20 system serves as the super video headend platform for the Indiana Video Network (IVN), a consortium of eight independent rural telephone service providers that provide video services. The TANDBERG iPlex platform serves as the edge video headend for local program encoding and channel addition for some IVN members.

"Rochester Telephone has built a state-of-the-art video headend, which gives the company complete flexibility and control to offer highdefinition television (HDTV), personal video recorder (PVR) service, and an extensive channel lineup that provides tremendous choice for subscribers," contends Jim Olson, executive vice president of corporate development, TANDBERG Television Inc. "We're very proud to support independent telephone companies like Rochester Telephone, who are leading the IPTV revolution in the US."

"We've been providing telephone service for 110 years to this region and have very loyal customers who are thrilled to get their video programming from us," adds Ron Riggle, vice president of operations, Rochester Telephone. "We want to offer them a state-of-the-art triple-play service, including voice, long-distance, 150 channels of standard definition national and local programming, eight channels of HDTV premium and local programming, PVR, and Caller ID on the television. With affordable, high-quality video compression from TANDBERG Television, we will truly leverage the power of our new FTTP network to offer an exciting IPTV service with excellent customer care that meets or exceeds the experience that cable can offer," he adds.

Rochester Telephone has built an MPEG-2 video architecture with two Mediaplex-20 video headends because of the high-bandwidth capabilities of its fiber network. "We chose the Mediaplex headend, after receiving several bids, because of its high-density modular design, high-quality of the HD, and the experienced team approach between all of the suppliers to make interoperability work and give us all the services we wanted at an affordable price," says Riggle.

Rochester today provides voice and data to nearly 6,000 households over 250 square miles and has installed fiber to the premise to 80% of its subscriber base. About 20% of Rochester's subscribers are dispersed in rural areas, and the company is extending its fiber build to them over the next three years. Rochester is preparing for commercial launch of the IPTV service during the fourth quarter of this year.


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