Thomson in Deals with Orange, Bouyges Telecom, Comcast

French electronics giant, Thomson, announced three significant customer wins Monday:

• The company says that it has begun delivery of a new HD version of its hybrid terrestrial/IPTV set-top box that will power France Telecom-subsidiary Orange's HDTV service. According to Thomson, the box will support both free-to-air and subscription-based television services, as well as interactive and on-demand content. Among other things, the box will allow customers of Orange Television to access a catch-up TV service that now features HDTV content. "Thanks to Thomson's expertise in broadcast and IPTV, along with our market leadership in set-top boxes, we have an exhaustive understanding of how to best tailor our offering to our customers' needs" Thomson chairman and CEO, Frederic Rose, said in a prepared statement. "Orange is a long-time customer, to whom we have been supplying set-top boxes and other devices for many years. We are pleased to launch this innovative device which combines high-definition quality, interactivity and on-demand services, allowing Orange to propose an attractive offer to end-users."
• The company says it is providing a range of solutions for live, on-demand and interactive video to France's Bouyges Telecom for the latter's Bbox service. According to the company, the solutions include home gateways (TG787), its SmartVision service management platform and VOD servers, and IPTV set-top boxes (DBI8500). It is also providing its Cirpack VoIP platforms, as well as design, engineering, integration, support and maintenance services.
• The company says it has signed a deal with Comcast to provide the cable MSO with its Advanced Cable Gateway devices. According to the company, the devices will allow Comcast to provide a service that will include the ability to use enhanced cordless telephone handsets to view email; manage voicemail; and read news, weather and sports; and to click-to-call from call logs, a business directory or a universal address book powered by Plaxo. Comcast is expected to begin deploying the gateways later this quarter. "We are looking forward to the introduction of the Advanced Cable Gateway, a device at the center of the digital connected home which will allow users to connect to and control multiple devices over their Comcast wireless home network," Thomson's Rose said in a prepared statement. "Innovation has always been at the heart of Thomson and these developments demonstrate our ability to make technology work to improve the businesses and lives of our clients and of the end-users, throughout their needs today and tomorrow." Added Comcast CTO, Tony Werner: "Thomson's highly innovative Advanced Cable Gateway devices are a central part of our roll-out of enhanced digital communications services. Thomson's gateways add functionality and features beyond that of traditional offerings. The new device will enable Comcast to offer a whole new level of services to our subscribers. We will thus not only be improving the phone services within the home, but expanding the visual experience beyond the TV and PC." Thomson provides Comcast with a range of residential broadband products including data and VoIP cable modems: it entered the US cable video market around a year ago, when it was selected to provide Comcast with digital transport adaptors. According to Thomson, Comcast will be rolling out these devices in the coming weeks: Thomson says that it is currently working on a second-generation DTA that will be "smaller than a PDA and fully environmentally friendly."