Ericsson Extends Reach in China VOD Market

Ericsson has further extended its position as a provider of video on-demand (VOD) solutions in China with a number of new deployments, including a system for Wuhu CATV, a cable operator serving the Anhui province of the country.

With the continued consumer uptake of enhanced television services across China, subscriber growth is expected in the Anhui province in the very near future. Wuhu CATV, which already offers more than 100 TV channels to over 300,000 consumers, is reacting to the opportunity for future growth by deploying a system that includes the OpenStream Digital Services Platform by Ericsson, enabling it to offer viewers greater levels of flexibility and personalization through next generation functionality such as time-shifted TV and networked PVR (nPVR).

“The number of pay TV subscribers is expected to increase from 362 million in 2010 to 481 million by 2016 according to Informa, and we are pro-actively taking the necessary steps to ensure that our existing and future viewers can enjoy innovative, next generation TV services,” said Wang Hao, general manager, Wuhu CATV. “We therefore required a system that offers the capability to scale our services quickly and easily with field proven open standard interoperation in a multi-vendor environment. Ericsson’s solution offers us all this, as well as the reliability and level of performance that we needed.”

“These latest deployments, including the provision of a VOD and time-shifted TV system for Wuhu CATV, serve to strengthen our leadership for providing next generation TV solutions in China. The flexibility and reliability of our portfolio is enabling operators to meet the needs of consumers as they increasingly demand access to their favorite content whenever they want it,” said Ward Hansford, acting head of Asia Pacific, Solution Area TV, Ericsson. “Ericsson continues to act as a trusted partner for operators seeking to offer differentiating services that enhance the quality of experience for consumers and maximize the value of their subscriptions.”

The on-demand service delivery platform that Ericsson has provided to Wuhu CATV address critical functions required of a next generation platform, and enables key differentiators in the areas of multi-screen support, scaling, flexibility, and enterprise management.

Ericsson’s Xport Time-Shifted TV solution, which also forms part of the deployed system, manages multiple sites simultaneously over a centralized management console, not only eliminating the need for personnel at each remote location, but narrowing the opportunity for error by having one source handle all programming. It also allows for the centralized control and management of the program recording, in accordance to contractual obligation. The solution provides an open architecture framework that allows seamless interoperation with any type of EPG source data format, as well as third party solution elements.