Netgem has announced it has been chosen by Maltese cable operator Melita to provide its set-top boxes for its new HD and PVR services ahead of the 2010 World Cup.
With over 180,000 subscribers, Melita offers a combination of television, broadband internet, fixed line, cable and mobile services and a fast growing content offering – including this year’s football World Cup in South Africa.
The concurrent availability of the HD Netgem PVR Netbox will enable Melita subscribers to personalise their football World Cup 2010 viewing by recording, pausing, rewinding matches and other programmes. Melita is promising to offer multiple language commentary throughout the tournament and to almost double its TV line up to 150 channels by June this year. The company has also made a commitment to create a number of niche channels to cater to Malta’s increasingly international population.
In a related development, Accedo Broadband and Netgem have announced that Accedo’s IPTV applications are to be made available via Netgem’s IPTV platform – NetgemTV. The two companies will introduce a range of customised IPTV applications over the next 12 months.
“Netgem is at the forefront of creating innovative, new IPTV solutions of which applications play a key role. NetgemTV is one of the best interactive TV platforms available today, combining open internet standards with a thorough understanding of the unique aspects of a TV operator’s service requirements.” Said Michael Lantz, CEO, Accedo Broadband, in a statement.
Discussing his company’s partnership strategy, Christophe Aulnette, Netgem’s MD said, “Enabling third party development of applications on top of our NetgemTV platform is part of our business strategy as it will allow operators to enrich their advanced TV consumer offering and create more value.”
Netgem technology is employed in over 2.5 million homes globally and is among the Top 10 most deployed IPTV solutions worldwide. Netgem’s customers include leading telecom operators such as SFR in France, Telstra of Australia, Elisa in Finland, Monaco Telecom, Algeria Telecom, FetchTV in the UK and Melita in Malta.
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