[December 04, 2007] Bristol Virginia Utilities Steps Up Triple Play with Integra5's Converged Services Platform Tweet BURLINGTON, Mass., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Integra5, the pioneer in enabling service providers to blend quad play bundles into converged services for simultaneous delivery across TVs and PCs, today announced that municipal telecommunications pioneer, Bristol Virginia Utilities (BVU) OptiNet, has launched the i5 Converged Services Platform (CSP), which will power its first i5 converged application -- TV Caller ID. Marketed as "OnScreen CallerID," this service will be deployed throughout BVU's market area -- including Bristol, Washington County and Abingdon, Va. -- to deliver added value to subscribers and set OptiNet's triple play apart from competitors. BVU is an innovative municipally owned utility that provides communications, electric, water and wastewater services. The company's telecommunications division, BVU OptiNet, is widely recognized for its deployment of one of the nation's first fiber-to-the-user (FTTU) networks. Serving more than 60% of the residential and business markets in its area, BVU offers highly competitive services, including local and long-distance telephone, digital cable and high-speed Internet, as well as advanced services, such as HDTV and DVRs. OnScreen CallerID -- which displays the names and numbers of incoming phone calls on up to three TVs before the phone even rings -- is free and automatically activated for BVU OptiNet customers who subscribe to a triple play combination of telephone with caller ID, digital cable and high-speed Internet. BVU is also offering the service separately for a monthly fee of $1.99. "At BVU, we're constantly striving to add value and convenience to our customers' lives through cutting-edge new services," said Wes Rosenbalm, BVU's CEO and President. "OnScreen CallerID allows us to deliver a superior customer experience today, while the i5 CSP provides future-proof technology for the seamless rollout of additional converged services." The i5 CSP enables service providers to "blend the bundle" by combining communications and content from voice, video, data and wireless networks into new, real-time converged services that are field-proven to increase customer loyalty, digital-tier uptake and ARPU. Its network-based, distributed architecture scales to millions of subscribers and requires no truck rolls or in-home equipment. The i5 CSP works in IPTV, cable and hybrid network environments and supports the rapid, economical rollout of converged services across multiple TVs and PCs per household. "Converged communications services are gaining momentum with operators of all sizes, and TV Caller ID is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the new services that consumers are ready and looking for," said Integra5 CEO Meredith Flynn-Ripley. "By deploying the i5 CSP, industry pacesetters like BVU are able to quickly and easily take advantage of more advanced converged services that span multiple devices -- such as PC Caller ID, Visual Voicemail and Text Messaging to the TV -- to stay ahead of competitors, forge lasting customer connections and secure their position in this rapidly evolving market." The i5 CSP and pre-packaged converged services have been commercially deployed with numerous service providers since 2004, including top 20 MSOs Knology and WideOpenWest (WOW!), as well as Comporium, EATEL, Everest, Foothills Telephone Cooperative and Hargray, among others. BVU OptiNet is considering additional Integra5 converged services, powered by the i5 CSP, including: "Personalization" features, which allow users to associate pictures, photos, nicknames and fonts with TV Caller ID alerts; Visual Voicemail on TV, which lets users play back voice messages from the TV; and Message Waiting Indication, which displays an indicator light on the set- top box when voice messages are waiting. About Bristol Virginia Utilities Bristol Virginia Utilities (BVU) is a municipally owned system, providing electric, water, wastewater and telecommunication services to the City of Bristol, Va., and the surrounding area. BVU OptiNet is the telecommunications division of Bristol Virginia Utilities, and serves residential and business customers with service combinations including local and long distance telephone, cable television and high-speed Internet. For more information, visit http://www.bvu-optinet.com/ . About Integra5 Integra5 is the global leader in blending triple and quad play bundles into converged services. Featuring patented and patent-pending technologies, the company's i5 Converged Services Platform (i5 CSP) blends voice, video, data and mobile services into new communications and content applications for delivery across TVs, PCs and other devices. The i5 CSP works in today's IPTV and cable networks and can be seamlessly integrated into future IMS environments. Integra5 is headquartered in Burlington, Mass., and has a research and development office in Rehovot, Israel. For more information, visit http://www.integra5.com/ . Mariah Torpey Davies Murphy Group, Inc. 781-418-2404 [email protected] http://www.daviesmurphy.com/ Integra5 CONTACT: Mariah Torpey of Davies Murphy Group, Inc., +1-781-418-2404,[email protected], for Integra5 Web site: http://www.integra5.com/http://www.bvu-optinet.com/http://www.daviesmurphy.com/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]