May 1, 2006 Bonn, Germany and San Jose, CA -- T-Online, a division of Deutsche Telekom'sT-Com subsidiary, announced that it is driving the growth of its T-Home brand of converged "triple play" services using a network based on Cisco Systems' Internet Protocol Next-Generation Network (IP NGN) architecture. The carrier's T-Home service is delivered via Cisco's IP set-top boxes (STBs) supporting the Microsoft TV IPTV Edition software platform.
T-Online introduced the T-Home service at the CeBIT 2006 show in Hanover, Germany, and will make the service available to its customers in Germany, France, and Spain in the second half of 2006.
"Our objective is to offer customers a convenient 'plug and play' solution that can be set up and operated both quickly and easily," comments Kai-Uwe Ricke, chairman of the board of management at Deutsche Telekom AG. "The Cisco solution helps us address that need."
The T-Com video delivery network incorporates Cisco's 12000 Series routers at the provider edge, as well as the company's 10008 Series routers as Broadband Remote Access Server (BRAS) platforms, and the company's Catalyst 6509 Series switches.
Cisco acquired KiSS Technology in September 2005; the T-Home services are delivered through a Cisco STB from the KiSS series called the T-Home X 300T Media Receiver, which supports the Microsoft IPTV Edition software.
The media receiver enables high-definition (HD) IPTV and features personal video recorder (PVR) functionality with an 80-Gbyte hard disk. The receiver supports the Digital Video Broadcasting-Terrestrial (DVB-T) standard, features a dual DVB-T tuner, and can be controlled remotely over the Internet. The device is HD-capable via an HDMI interface and offers Ethernet and SCART ports for additional connectivity and functionality.
Cisco will aid in the deployment of the digital video products, in addition to providing on-site support and video expertise to address technical issues for both the set top box product and the T-Home service.
"Cisco and Deutsche Telekom have a long history of collaboration and innovation to develop and deploy advanced services to meet customer needs," remarks Mike Volpi, senior vice president of Cisco's routing and service provider technology group. "We are eager to continue building on this history and also to extend our collaboration with Microsoft as we work together to drive growth of IPTV globally."
"Microsoft is dedicated to working closely with Deutsche Telekom to drive a new generation of TV and connected IP services in Europe," adds Enrique Rodriguez, corporate vice president for Microsoft Corp.'s TV division. "This is Microsoft's largest IPTV agreement in Europe to date, and we are pleased to be working with Cisco to help Deutsche Telekom deliver high-quality broadband entertainment to consumers across Germany."