Global carriers select Cisco IP Next Generation Network architecture for carrier-class,
intelligent entertainment-grade video solutions
ITU TELECOM WORLD - Hong Kong, China - December 4, 2006 - Cisco ® today
announced a series of new and enhanced solutions that enable carriers of all types and sizes to
deliver a “Connected Life” for businesses and consumers over the Cisco IP Next-Generation
Network (IP NGN) architecture. The Cisco IP NGN enables the development and delivery of
application- and subscriber-aware services to help providers increase revenue and enhance
efficiencies for improved profitability and control of their networks and business.
Today’s video subscribers want choices, personalization, content sharing across communities
and, often, instant gratification. They are no longer content to be just viewers; they’re now
producers or distributors in their own right empowered by the worldwide IP network. This shift to
“Video 2.0” recognizes that the network is now a “platform” driving participatory use of content tailored to specific individuals and communities and enabling broad-scale collaboration
“Delivering the ‘Connected Life’ is about much more than just broadcast and on-demand video,”
said Mark Bieberich, Vice President, Communications Infrastructure, Yankee Group. “It’s about
personalized IP service bundles that integrate video, VoIP, Internet access, messaging, gaming
and audio entertainment applications requiring dynamic multicasting, advanced QoS and policy
management. The delivery of personalized service bundles that include video requires a
new approach to service control at the network edge. The Cisco IP NGN architecture is a solid
foundation upon which to develop these new service offerings and business processes.”
Cisco continues to deliver on its IP NGN vision and architecture for carriers by introducing
innovative solutions and reaching new customer milestones. Today’s announcements are focused
on defining, preserving and realizing digital video and IPTV. The Cisco innovations announced
today also help ensure that service subscribers enjoy the highest-quality viewing experience,
regardless of content source and device type.
For more information, please visit the Cisco Website: URL
Defining Video Content - To enable the personalized experience demanded by today’s viewers,
advanced content delivery systems must manage and deliver any content at any time. This “on
demand” requirement means formatting and provisioning content to any device across any
network, anytime - streaming content to PCs, PDAs, iPods, cell phones and other devices - while
maintaining the integrity of the visual experience.
Today’s announcements include:
- Introduction of the Cisco Content Delivery System (CDS). This solution is designed to
transcend the limitations of existing video on demand (VoD) systems, giving providers
an intelligent, distributed network platform for the development of personalized
entertainment, interactive media and targeted advertising. The Cisco CDS is designed to
speed delivery of this content to subscribers’ televisions, and, soon, to personal
computers, mobile handsets and other multimedia-capable devices.
For more information, please visit the Cisco Website URL
Preserving the Video Viewing Experience - Once video is defined, it must be delivered to
subscribers over the network. If not performed properly, the transport process can significantly
degrade video quality, negatively affecting the overall viewing experience. To maintain the
integrity of the content and the overall quality of the experience their subscribers receive,
providers are looking for both the advanced technology and the service expertise necessary to
maximize their differentiation from competitive offerings.
Today’s announcements include:
- Significant enhancements to the Cisco 7600 Series Router portfolio, establishing it as the
industry’s first comprehensive Carrier Ethernet service edge platform for converged
video, voice and data services with mobility (quad-play). This integrated intelligence
includes support for Cisco’s Intelligent Services Gateway (ISG) functionality -
announced earlier this year on the Cisco 10000 and 7200 Series platforms - which
provides policy control, service control, and subscriber management. Further
enhancements include integration of video/voice Session Border Control (SBC) for IP
Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and non-IMS applications.
For more information, please visit the Cisco Website URL
- Visual Quality Experience (VQE) technology improves the quality of video service and
viewing experiences. VQE enables network-based rapid channel-change and video error
repair, two significant challenges in the development and delivery of digital cable and
IPTV services. Based on industry standards, including Real-time Transport Control
Protocol (RTCP) and Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP), VQE enables providers to
prepare networks for delivery of advanced video services such as IPTV and digital video
by detecting and repairing packet loss on degraded lines. It further enables network-based
rapid channel change to enhance the viewing experience for IPTV subscribers. VQE will
initially ship as an appliance and will soon be integrated into Cisco 7600 Series Routers.
For more information, please visit the Cisco Website URL
Realizing Video - The final stage in the process is the “realization” of the video on the end
device. This, too, has very strict requirements in order to present the content in its truest form and
to help enable the personalization of the viewing experience by the subscriber. In the “Connected
Home”, set-top boxes, the subscriber-facing component of system, are particularly important.
- Scientific Atlanta, a Cisco Company, announces today that it has shipped more than 30
million set top boxes and more than six million digital video recorders.
- Scientific Atlanta innovations such as single-slice encoding help display video content most
accurately. Scientific Atlanta developed digital video recording technology and multi-room
viewing of live and recorded video help delivered help the subscriber to better personalize the
experience.
Global Cisco IP NGN Service Provider Deployments
Cisco continues to accelerate service provider adoption of its IP NGN solutions globally. Recent
carrier deployments include:
- Charter Communications, Inc. (USA): Expanding availability of its converged data, voice
and video ("triple-play") services with a network based on the Cisco Internet Protocol
Next-Generation Network (IP NGN) architecture. For more information, see
http://www.cisco.com/web/UK/news/archive/2006/101806.html
- HEF Bredbånd A/S (Denmark): Building a new 5,000 kilometre fibre optic network
based on the Cisco Internet Protocol Next-Generation Network (IP NGN) architecture to
bring "triple-play" entertainment- and business-grade communication services, including
IPTV featuring 150 channels and video-on-demand (VoD), to more than 80,000
customers. The network uses Cisco Fiber to the Home (FTTH) Ethernet technology. For
more information, see http://www.cisco.com/web/UK/news/archive/2006/092606.html
- Cable& Wireless (UK): Expanded its deployment of the Scientific Atlanta iLYNXTM
platform to create a nationwide contribution and distribution platform on behalf of a
major U.K. broadcaster. The network will be used to link studios across the U.K. and will
provide for the transport of standard-definition, high-definition and analog TV services.
Cable & Wireless also included Scientific Atlanta's ROSATM Network Management
System for this project and worked with Scientific Atlanta's EMEA SciCareTM
Professional Services group of systems integration experts. For more information, see
http://www.cisco.com/web/UK/news/archive/2006/090706b.html
- TDC Kabel TV A/S (Denmark): Deploying Scientific Atlanta’s MPEG-4 advanced video
compression (AVC) encoder for delivery of cable and DSL video services. TDC plans to
use the MPEG-2 encoding option to deliver high-quality digital video to its cable
customers, while initial plans call for bandwidth-saving MPEG-4 AVC encoding to
support DSL video. For more information, see
http://www.cisco.com/web/UK/news/archive/2006/090806b.html
- VTR (Chile): Deployed the Cisco CRS-1 Carrier Routing System to facilitate the growth
of triple play (data, voice and video) services over residential broadband connections.
VTR is the leading Chilean provider of cable TV and broadband Internet and is the
country's second-largest provider of residential telephone service. VTR has more than 2.2
million residential subscribers, with 1.2 million digital cable TV subscribers, 300,000
Internet subscribers and 400,000 IP telephony subscribers. For more information, see
http://www.cisco.com/web/UK/news/archive/2006/071706.html
Industry Recognition
Cisco continues its culture of innovation to enable providers to deliver profitable quad-play
services. Recent industry recognition includes:
- Scientific Atlanta HD Encoder Named CES Innovations 2007 Design and Engineering
Honoree - The Scientific Atlanta MPEG-4 HDTV Advanced Compression Encoder
(Model D9054TM) has been acknowledged as an International CES Innovations 2007
Design and Engineering Awards Honoree by the Consumer Electronics Association. For
more information, see: http://www.cisco.com/web/UK/news/archive/2006/110906b.html
- Cisco Wins Metro Network Technologies and Services Award at the InfoVision Awards
2006 - Held at Broadband World Forum Europe in Paris and presented by the
International Engineering Consortium (IEC). The product nominated under this category
was Cisco Integrated Video Admission Control. For more information, see: http://www.cisco.com/web/UK/news/archive/2006/101206.html
“The world of video and television as we know it has changed forever," said Mike Volpi, senior
vice president of the Cisco Router and Service Provider Technology Group. "We are extremely
pleased with our momentum in innovation in the digital video and IPTV space over the last year,
especially regarding continued global momentum and the ongoing successful integration of
Scientific Atlanta. We look forward to evolving the role of video in business and with consumers
and we will continue to work closely with providers of all sizes and in all geographies to help
ensure their continued development and deployment of advanced video services.”
