Minerva Networks, which last August passed 200 IPTV deployments worldwide, has scored a deal with the City of Salisbury, N.C., to deliver broadcast TV, video-on-demand and Internet TV to 10,000 target subscribers in conjunction with the city-owned Fibrant fiber-to-the-home service provider.
Minerva said the new TV services include high-definition broadcast television (HDTV), whole-home digital video recording (WHDVR), video-on-demand (VOD) and Internet TV. The Minerva solution also features a TV widget engine for the delivery of third-party applications including RSS news feeds, stocks, weather and traffic information, as well as visual voice mail, caller ID and popular social networking services. Minerva is also planning to help Fibrant deliver local community television, online education services and digital signage.
"We chose Minerva over two larger vendors because of its 165 TV deployments in North America and its open management and delivery platform for advanced TV services," said City of Salisbury Sales and Marketing Manager Len Clark. "Minerva shares our market vision about the future of data, voice and video services delivered over an open, IP-based infrastructure."
Fibrant, a $29 million project that includes about 240 miles of fiber, reached some 95 percent of the city's residents. Salisbury says it hopes to reach a 30 percent market share, about 4,400 households in four years.
The city originally had a $3.9 million contract with Ericsson Federal, but changed to Minerva Networks, a move that delayed the launch slightly. Minerva, which didn't bid on the original contract, signed a $1.1 million deal was signed in August.
"The City of Salisbury is a great example of how smaller communities can strengthen their economic futures by investing in multi-service broadband networks," said Doug Wills, VP of marketing and business development for Minerva Networks. "The same fiber infrastructure that delivers advanced TV services can be used for online education, remote healthcare and even business services such as digital signage."
For more:
- see this release
- see this article
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