Contracts awarded to four key technology partners

 

Singapore, 11 July 2003 - StarHub announced today that it will launch its much-anticipated digital cable services by end 2003. StarHub, presently the only cable TV operator in Singapore, has awarded contracts to four key technology partners to put in place a system for its digital cable services.

 

"In building our $600 million broadband network, StarHub's intention has always been to offer a range of services to our customers to meet their different lifestyle needs. We are pleased to announce that we will soon roll out digital cable services, This will further enrich our customers' experience by providing even more choice and flexibility to our cable TV service," said Ms Sandie Lee, StarHub's Vice President, Programming.

 

Ms Lee added, "The digital cable technology promises huge potential as it allows for more channel capacity as well as interactive applications. TV viewers can look forward to receiving more quality cable TV channels including niche and ethnic-specific content, better video and audio quality, and a host of interactive TV services such as Electronic Programme Guide (EPG), and other future TV applications such as email service, interactive SMS chats and games."

 

"StarHub has harnessed technology to offer our customers the opportunity to hub with us across multiple platforms - cable TV, broadband Internet and mobile communications services. The launch of StarHub's digital cable services will provide an even better hubbing experience as our customers will then be able to watch, surf and talk on the single digital cable platform," said Mr Thomas Ee, StarHub's Senior Vice President for Online Services, who heads the technical implementation of StarHub's digital cable services.

 

StarHub has appointed Thomson Broadcast & Media Solutions as the system integrator of its digital cable services. Besides being the prime contractor of the overall system integration, Thomson will also provide the backend systems support. With a proven track record in broadcast, the award-winning Grass Valley product portfolio from Thomson is installed in thousands of facilities worldwide. It offers the most comprehensive, multi-format solutions for acquisition, production, storage and playback, and a strong foundation for centralized, proactive status and activities monitoring. Thomson's Nextream product line is a leader in digital encoding and broadcasting technology for integrated video/data solutions, providing turnkey systems over all major transmission networks.

 

"We are proud to support StarHub's leadership in digital and their development of Singapore's largest video distribution facility," said Mr Marc Valentin, President of Thomson Broadcast & Media Solutions. "We are committing significant engineering and systems design expertise as well as a full range of our Grass ValleyTM signal processing and facility control products and NextreamTM encoders and multiplexing technology to ensure delivery of a complete, extremely reliable, future-proofed system."

 

StarHub's other technology partners for its digital cable services are Nagravision S.A. (A Kudelski Group), Advanced Digital Broadcast Ltd (ADB) and OpenTV.

 

"Nagravision is very excited in its involvement with StarHub's digital cable platform. StarHub has selected us for our advanced security conditional access system; Lysis Traffic & Scheduling management tools; as well as interactive applications such as iGuide and EPG. This digital platform when completed will be one of the most advanced systems in the world and places StarHub in an enviable position within the region," stated Mr Peter Iannazzo, Nagravision's Vice President, Asia Pacific.

 

Nagravision is the world's leading independent supplier of open conditional access systems, advanced management tools, and integrated solutions for digital television operators, representing over 35 million television subscribers worldwide. Nagravision solutions provide cable, satellite, terrestrial, MMDS, FTTH and xDSL operators with the tools to deploy and manage a wide range of pay-TV services including pay-per-view, VOD, NVOD and interactive applications.

 

StarHub will work with ADB on set-top and selected frontend applications.  ADB is a knowledge-based and technology oriented organisation that designs and integrates highly sophisticated software and hardware systems for digital cable services.

 

"We're very proud that we've been picked by StarHub, Asia's leading pay-TV player, to help them make the changeover to digital pay-TV a successful reality," Mr David Tung, ADB's Vice President, Asia Pacific Sales said. "Over the years we've become the partner of choice for pay-TV operators who have already gone digital in Thailand, in Taiwan, in Australia, and in Europe. They've recognized our capability to work with them to make a successful implementation of digital services. We look forward to a long and profitable relationship with StarHub."

 

OpenTV, StarHub's fourth technology partner for its digital cable services, will provide the middleware to support an open multivendor set-top deployment. OpenTV is one of the world's leading interactive television company, with a proven track record in integrating innovative technology, interactive applications and professional services to deliver enhanced interactive viewer experiences. On the addition of StarHub to OpenTV's many global partners, Mr Jeffrey Brown, Managing Director of OpenTV Asia Pacific, commented, "With its broadband cable network, wireless network, content and ISP services, StarHub is in a unique position to leverage OpenTV's interactive technology platform across all mediums. StarHub is likely to become one of the most progressive interactive television networks in the world in a very short period of time."

 

More details on StarHub's digital cable services will be announced at a later date. In the meantime, the public is welcome to visit StarHub's anniversary event held at the Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre (SICEC), Level Two Ballroom, to sample some of StarHub's digital cable services. The event will be open from 12noon to 9pm on 12 July 2003 (Saturday) and 11am to 9pm on 13 July 2003 (Sunday).

 

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