Ericsson strengthens its position in VoD in China

Ericsson has further expanded its position in China as a video on demand (VOD) solutions provider with a series of new deployments including a system for Wuhu CATV, a cable operator in China's Anhui province.

Ericsson has further expanded its position in China as a video on demand (VOD) solutions provider with a series of new deployments including a system for Wuhu CATV, a cable operator in China's Anhui province.

Due to the interest generated by new television services among consumers throughout the country, a significant growth in the number of subscribers is expected in the very near future in Anhui province.

Wuhu CATV, which already offers more than 100 television channels to more than 300,000 consumers, is seizing the opportunity for this future growth by deploying a system that includes Ericsson's OpenStream Digital Services Platform, which will allow it to offer audiences greater levels of flexibility and personalization through next-generation functionality such as pause-live TV and network digital video recorder (nPVR).

“According to Informa data, the number of pay TV subscribers is expected to increase from 362 million in 2010 to 481 million expected by 2016 and we are taking the necessary steps to ensure that our current and future audiences can enjoy innovative next-generation television services,” comments Wang Hao, CEO of Wuhu CATV.

"Therefore we needed a system that offers the ability to scale our services quickly and easily with proven open standard interoperability in a multi-vendor environment. Ericsson's solution offers us all this, in addition to the reliability and level of performance we were looking for. We are delighted to work together with Ericsson to identify and deploy the perfect solution that allows us to improve the experience of our subscribers," he added.

The on-demand service delivery platform that Ericsson has provided to Wuhu CATV covers a range of critical functions needed in a next-generation platform, enabling key differentiators in multi-screen support, flexibility and operation management.

Ericsson's Xport Time-Shifted TV solution, which is also part of the system that has been deployed, manages multiple sites simultaneously on a centralized management console, which not only eliminates the need for staff at each remote location, but also reduces the possibility of error by having a single source that manages all programming.

It also allows centralized control and management of program recording. The solution provides an open architecture that allows seamless interoperability with any type of EPG source data format, as well as with third-party solution elements.