Cox Taps NDS as Prime Integrator for its tru2way Platform

At the NCTA Cable Show in Washington, DC Monday, interactive TV and conditional access technology provider, NDS (note: the company is now a private company, co-owned by the Permira Funds and News Corp.), announced that it has been chosen by cable MSO, Cox Communications, as the prime integrator for the latter's tru2way platform, which is slated to launch this summer.

Under the terms of the companies' agreement, NDS will be responsible for the management and implementation of Cox's tru2way system, providing these services for "the complete end-to-end solution, from the headend through to the set-top box components," NDS says. Its work on the project will begin with the roll-out of tru2way set-top boxes to Cox customers, which is expected to begin in July. "NDS did a tremendous job on our new interactive program guide," James Kelso, Cox's VP of video engineering, said in a prepared statement. "The quality of their work and the consistent timeliness of their deliverables enable us to entrust NDS with the deployment of our entire tru2way platform. The knowledge and experience NDS has demonstrated give us great confidence for the roll-out of new services which we're planning this summer." Added Steve Tranter, NDS's VP of broadband and interactive: "The work Cox and NDS have completed together over the past year, and the plans to continue to do so in the future, truly exemplify the progressive nature of each company. NDS brings the knowledge and experience of integrating and implementing tru2way systems which fits perfectly with the innovation, content and design leadership from Cox."

News of Cox's selection of NDS as the prime integrator of its tru2way platform follows the announcement last week that the MSO has also chosen the company to implement a suite of interactive TV applications for its tru2way set-top boxes. According to the companies, the application suite includes integrated telephony services, email, news, sports, weather, games, movie listings, multichannel mosaics, widgets, horoscopes, lottery results and customer care. It is designed to complement a new tru2way interface which NDS has developed for Cox and which it bills as integrating program information for the MSO's linear TV, VOD and DVR services into an intuitive and user-friendly design. "Staying true to our commitment to customers to ensure simple and intuitive navigation, Cox worked closely with the NDS design and development teams to ensure that the final product suite, while providing advanced services, remains user-friendly and fits seamlessly within the new UI framework," Steve Necessary, Cox's VP of video strategy and product development, said in a prepared statement. "We achieved all of these goals thanks to the extensive knowledge and resources of the NDS team. The integration and implementation of these interactive applications is proving to be a smooth process thanks to the expertise and close collaboration between Cox and NDS." According to NDS, it has been working with Cox for more than a year on a range of technology deployments, beginning with the implementation of the NDS IEX automated set-top box testing solution. The company says that the collaboration has "grown ever deeper in the drive to move forward with next-generation, interactive and user-friendly applications designed to engage and excite Cox’s audiences."