Netgem in Slovenian IPTV win

Telekom Slovenia has announced an upgrade of its IPTV service that will use set-top box technology and middleware supplied by Netgem.

The system has been put together by Planet9, Telekom Slovenia’s multimedia and system integration subsidiary, ahead of the launch of the SiOL iO service. Netgem is replacing fellow French suppliers Sagem as set-top box supplier and Thomson/Technicolor middleware.

Initial applications include an online radio portal, weather news channel, livescore, Facebook connect, news channel SiOL.net and an innovative new application that enables subscribers to publish content shot direct from their mobile phone or webcam.

“Our previous server-based platform did not offer the capability to support our vision moving forward, we needed to future-proof our IPTV services and since digital switchover is approaching it seemed the right time to make the upgrade,” said Simon Furlan, Marketing Director of Telekom Slovenia. Netgem’s hybrid technology slotted directly into our existing infrastructure, and also negated the need for costly reinvestment.”

Telekom Slovenia, which has in the region of 120,000 IPTV subscribers faced a number of obstacles that included an ageing server based infrastructure and an increasing number of customers with a connected TV.

Commenting on the deal, Christophe Aulnette, managing director of Netgem, said: “Our solution is a cost-effective way for operators to quickly introduce the broadest possible range of online and offline content to market, while being able to take advantage of new, long-term revenue streams made available by connected home and multi-screen services.”