Alcatel-Lucent Intros IPTV Solution for Small Telcos
Posted by Jesse Ward on Friday, July 23, 2010 · 
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Alcatel-Lucent is targeting small telcos with the release of a compact IPTV solution, powered by Microsoft Mediaroom, which can scale from 1,000 to 100,000 set-top boxes. The solution provides high-quality television programming, and also enables new services through the blending and personalization of Web and broadcast content.
Alcatel-Lucent’s Integrated Solution for Microsoft Mediaroom is a substantially modified version of an existing solution that the company has previously deployed in more than 25 large networks globally. The new solution, based on Microsoft’s Mediaroom Hyper-V architecture, includes a unique design that can support more than three times as many households, while using a smaller number of servers.
Alcatel-Lucent collaborated with HP on the solution, using BladeSystem with HP Virtual Connect technology to reduce the complexity of the architecture and increase flexibility to respond to changes in workload demands.
Cinergy MetroNet, a triple-play service provider in Evansville, Indiana, is the first customer to use the solution and will begin offering Alcatel-Lucent-powered IPTV services to six cities later this month, with the potential to reach about 50,000 customers.
Cinergy MetroNet plans to offer its customers multimedia services such as broadcast TV blended with Web content; the ability to simultaneously record multiple shows while watching another; and the delivery of personalized content such as weather, traffic and news.
“Operators who support from 1,000 to 100,000 set-top-boxes are underserved when it comes to IPTV and next generation multimedia services,” said Geeta Chaudhary, vice president of Alcatel-Lucent’s Multimedia Integration Services group. “To address this need we created an optimized IPTV solution that is pre-integrated and lab tested, minimizing the technical and commercial risks associated with launching IPTV services. We estimate that more than 11 million new IPTV subscribers will be served by regional communication service providers in the coming three years and this compact release is designed to help our customers better address this huge opportunity.”
Alcatel-Lucent faces stiff competition from the likes of Minerva, Nokia Siemens Networks, Cisco, Occam Networks, Calix and Adtran, to name just a few. Vince Vittore, principal analyst for Yankee Group, offers this analysis: “Alcatel-Lucent’s approach to this market is unique because it combines a great user experience with a reasonable price point and leverages its experience as a video integrator.”
For more, see this release.
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