Buoyant Netgem reveals IPTV 2.0 early adopters
Editor ©RapidTVNews | 22-03-2011
On the back of announcing healthy consolidated 2010 profits, Netgem has unveiled the first customers for its so-called IPTV 2.0 solution.
For 2010, Netgem’s revenues grew by 3% to €134.9 million with operating profit of €30.8 million and a consolidated net profit of €22.6 million. The current operating profit is said to have reflected the company’s recent moves to beef up its sales and marketing especially in international expansion. Indeed the company boasted a 7x increase in international sales multiplication by 7.
Going forward the firm will be increasingly centred on its IPTV 2.0 strategy which is designed to provide an application framework for operators to develop live and on-demand TV and multimedia applications across all screens in the home through a consistent user interface.
Netgem believes that its framework will give operators the flexibility to manage not only content but also networks—blending broadcast and broadband from DSL, cable or fibre—and multi-screen devices. Such IPTV 2.0 applications will also support legacy digital TV, pay or free, services and new pure IP services, such as video on demand and catch up TV.
The business benefit will be that providers will be able to build a business proposition around a horizontal model, rather than vertical integration. This is intended to provide the freedom to choose content from a variety of sources and by using the STB as a server they can build device interoperability and content portability into their customer packages.
Already a number of European operators have announced interest in the solution. netplus.ch SA, a group representing five CATV operators in Switzerland, has indicated that it will use the IPTV 2.0 framework to rapidly deploy innovative additional TV services, including PVR and VOD. Explained CEO Christian Voide: “Our subscribers have expressed a desire for nonlinear multimedia content and multi-screen services and they want this as soon as possible. Netgem is one of the only IPTV technology and solutions providers that is able to offer a pre-integrated and flexible solution and thus a deployment time that will meet their demands, as we expect to launch our offer in Q4 2011.”
Further interest has arrived from H1 TELEKOM, a Croatia-based telecom operator. Said its CEO Kristian Ćurković: "Our subscribers wanted next-generation TV services, and thanks to Netgem's hybrid STB technology we will be able to provide these at a low operating cost. H1 TELEKOM considers Netgem to be a reliable partner that will enable us to offer the most advanced IPTV service in the country to our customers".
