Avail Media has reportedly signed a contract to offer Intelsat’s MPEG-4 content aggregation and delivery service - Intelsat IPTV.

Intelsat IPTV (News - Alert) service combines the strong video communities on legacy PanAmSat’s fleet and the technical innovation in IPTV of legacy Intelsat. A lineup of more than 200 video and audio channels in MPEG-4 IP format will be offered by the Intelsat IPTV Super Headend. IPTV providers including integrators, telcos, cable systems and programmers can now choose from a selection of compliant conditional access systems, middleware and set-top-boxes.

Since Avail Media is now a customer of Intelsat it can now offer an enhanced IPTV solution, powered by Intelsat IPTV, to its customer base consisting of telco operators fiber-to-the-home providers and independent cable operators. The IPTV solution from Avail will be offered in the second quarter of 2007.

According to Jon Romm, executive vice president of Sales for Avial Media, the contract with Intelsat enables them to distribute high-quality video and audio services to their clients in a robust fashion.

Romm said that Intelsat’s high-quality distribution platform is the right service offering today and provides them an opportunity to enhance their offering as their business grows.

Telcos, cable systems and other video service providers can easily access the service that will be launched on satellites in Intelsat’s premium North American Cable Arc. The service can be accessed throughout the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii.

Cost savings can be achieved by IPTV operators by subscribing to an Intelsat IPTV-powered solution. Additionally the operators can add to their channel lineups to suit the needs of their target audience from more than 350 channels already on Intelsat’s Cable Arc satellites.

“Intelsat IPTV sets the new standard for satellite IPTV. We are providing a service that can deliver a compelling proposition to all service providers in the value chain,” said Vicki Warker, Intelsat’s senior vice president, Global Marketing in the press release.

Programming is received by the Intelsat IPTV Super Headend from Intelsat’s U.S. satellites, which is then repackaged in MPEG-4 IP format. Sold on a wholesale basis to integrators the service will incorporate Intelsat IPTV into a customized end-to-end solution.

Telcos and other video service providers in the United States can also use the Intelsat IPTV-powered solutions to start offering high quality IPTV services quickly, and achieve significant upfront cost savings, typically millions of dollars, compared with developing their own super headend.

With Intelsat IPTV cable MSOs have an option to fully digitize their networks. This helps them free up bandwidth to support new channels such as HD, VoD, broadband Internet and interactive video services.

Intelsat is a provider of fixed satellite services worldwide and is the provider of these services to each of the media, network services/telecom and government customer sectors, enabling people and businesses everywhere constant access to information and entertainment.

Avail Media provides turnkey solutions, including content rights, subscriber management, middleware and local integration.

Don't forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users.

---------

Anuradha Shukla is a contributing editor for TMCnet, covering call centers, CRM and information technology. To see more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.