Oxford Networks Deploys Siemens IPTV Solution

Siemens says that another US regional broadcaster, Oxford Networks, has deployed its end-to-end, open-architecture, multivendor IPTV solution, Siemens SURPASS. Oxford Networks is using the solution to offer IPTV services to customers in central and western Maine over a fiber-to-the-home network: the services, which are currently available to around 7,000 of those customers, include VOD, distance-learning facilities and video conferencing: "The flexibility of the Siemens SURPASS home entertainment solution is ideal for fiber infrastructures," Oxford Networks' COO, Craig Gunderson, said in a prepared statement. "The Siemens solution enables us to tailor the customer interface and provide an array of innovative IP video services and grow these services to match emerging customer demands for more interactive entertainment and communication home networks."

According to Siemens, SURPASS is designed for use with fiber, copper and mixed infrastructure deployments. It employs IPTV middleware from Myrio, a US company that Siemens acquired last year. Siemens says that the solution has to date been deployed by over 75 US regional operators, as well as by a number of large operators in international markets, including KPN Royal Dutch Telecom and Belgacom in Europe, and Advanced Datanetwork Communications in Thailand. Last month, Siemens announced that, following successful trials, Chinese broadband operator, Shanghai Telecom, and content aggregator, Shanghai Media Group, are using SURPASS to power the commercial launch of their IPTV service. Altogether, Siemens claims, its various IPTV contracts cover 38 million broadband lines.