Move Networks in IPTV Deal with Cable & Wireless's CWI

Move Networks--a Utah-based company which offers patent-pending adaptive-bitrate technologies for delivering live and on-demand, HD-quality, buffering-free broadband video (its technologies are used by, among others, ABC, Discovery Communications, ESPN, Fox, Sky News, Televisa and Warner Bros.; and are also being used for Comcast's On Demand Online trial), and which earlier this year signaled its intent to enter the IPTV space by acquiring UK-based Inuk Networks (see article published on itvt.com, April 22nd)--has now secured its first IPTV deal: with CWI, Cable & Wireless's international full-service telecommunications business.

According to the companies, the deal will allow each of CWI's business units, operating in 38 countries (note: the units currently offer fixed-line, mobile and broadband services and, according to CWI, collectively reach around 7 million customers), to offer an HD multichannel television service transmitted through CWI customers' existing broadband connections. The companies claim that the deal will be "the world's widest reaching IPTV partnership." They say that it calls for Move Networks to provide CWI with an end-to-end solution that enables the delivery of high-quality TV services over fixed-line (ADSL) networks on which CWI's businesses provide broadband. The companies claim that previous IPTV technologies required networks with high and guaranteed levels of bandwidth, which resulted in numerous IPTV "no-go" zones where existing bandwidth is limited--for example, in developing countries or regions with difficult topography. By partnering with Move Networks, the companies say, CWI will now be able to reach, scale and monetize its IPTV services to its customers. "At CWI we're on a mission to provide our customers with innovative world-class services, no matter where they are," CWI CEO, Tony Rice, said in a prepared statement. "Up to now, delivering television over a broadband network has been costly and bandwidth intensive. Our partnership with Move Networks enables us to remove these obstacles and develop IPTV services across our portfolio. It is an excellent addition to the leading mobile, broadband and fixed-lines services we provide to our customers."

Move Networks bills its solution as integrating middleware, content management, conditional access and backoffice systems to provide a multichannel linear and on-demand TV experience, with no buffering or stalling, to any broadband-connected device. The company says that its existing partnerships with content providers such as ABC, ESPN and Fox have allowed it to create a monetization model for professional broadband video that includes subscriptions, targeted advertising and pay-TV content.

According to the companies, Move Networks' technology has been successfully trialed by CWI, with customers receiving multichannel TV service through existing broadband connections. The companies say that the service has network PVR features, including pause and rewind of live TV and VOD offerings, and that they expect it to drive broadband penetration and usage.