Cedar Point Communications and an unnamed cable operator are trialing the vendor's Visual Communications Suite (VCS) application that takes a "holistic approach" to how consumers access and interact with cable-offered telecommunications services such as caller ID, message waiting, incoming call message screening and "clock to call."
"We're really talking about the ability to support converged communications; perhaps tie together with your address book, your FaceBook or SMS, one number capability, visual voice mail, caller ID information ... a number of different features that integrate together to provide a fused set of services that can be accessed across multiple different platform types," said Jeff Walker, Cedar Point's vice president of marketing.
Cedar Point's VCS: on-screen Control Center (SOURCE: Cedar Point Communications)
The VCS runs on Cedar Point's SafariFusion platform and is enabled primarily across TV applications such as EBIF, tru2way or IPTV, Walker said. It is primarily intended to help cable operators offer subscribers access to their telecommunications information on any platform-TV, PC, Wi-Fi-enable device, cell phone-and therefore "compete with the over-the-top providers who are relegating cable operators to becoming a dumb pipe," Walker continued.
Cedar Point does have a cable operator in the fold although, of course, no names are being bandied about. That operator will trial the service with friendly customers and employees until about September when it is expected to roll out for real.
The VCS is a direct offspring of SafariFusion which, "because it's built on Web 2.0 tool capability, enables the rapid development of these scalable carrier class applications," Walker said.
For more:
- see the release
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