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11-01-2013, 13:09
Regional SD telco upgrades middleware for IPTV * Michelle Clancy | 11-01-2013 * Proving once again that regional telcos are setting the pace in many ways when it comes to IPTV, South Dakota telco ITC is upgrading its middleware for a smoother user experience. ITC, which serves 15,000 customers in South Dakota and Minnesota, is employing a cap-and-grow strategy, putting its new IPTV customers onto the Innovative Systems Middleware solution. "We are putting our new customers on the APMAX Middleware in our current FTTH projects, and at present we are seeing fewer operational issues than we do with our legacy system," said Ren Preheim, ITC's network operations manager. "One issue we are encountering is that some customers on our legacy middleware product are hearing about the new system and are wondering when they are going to get the upgrade." ITC said that it will analyse set-top box (STB) depreciation and gradually phase other customers onto the APMAX Middleware. According to Preheim, with around 6,500 video customers, converting them all over at one time isn't feasible. ITC's outside plant supervisor, Terry Pederson, said that he was "one of the first to have the APMAX Middleware in my home last spring and noticed the advantages right away. The smooth operation of the programme guide and the DVR functionality were immediately apparent to me." According to Pederson, the most significant improvement is the ability to quickly solve common input and channel control issues from the ITC service centre using the Virtual Remote feature. Pederson also commented that they seldom have to reboot STBs with the new software.