First IPTV Service in Latin America Goes Wireless in the Home

Monday, October 8th, 2007

Telefonica del Sur Selects Ruckus Wireless as Primary In-Home Distribution Solution for Its New WiTV IPTV Service

BERLIN, BROADBAND WORLD FORUM — Ruckus Wireless today announced that it has been selected by Telefonica del Sur (TelSur), a leading provider of Internet-based multimedia and communication services in Chile, to supply its MediaFlex™ to support Latin America’s first commercial IPTV service.

The Ruckus MediaFlex system is a unique multimedia Wi-Fi solution designed to extend the range and increase the reliability of Wi-Fi signals while automatically avoiding interference as it occurs. This allows flawless streaming of multimedia, such as IPTV channels, over standard 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi.

With the Ruckus Wireless MediaFlex system, TelSur IPTV customers can extend the benefits of location freedom to their TV viewing pleasure. Televisions can now be placed virtually anywhere in their home without cumbersome and costly cabling while ensuring flicker-free TV. Additionally, the Ruckus MediaFlex system allows TelSur to install its IPTV service in less than half the time required to wire a home with coaxial cable or Ethernet wiring, allowing three times as many installations per day.

“With Ruckus Wireless, Telefonica del Sur is moving forward the state of broadband communications and in-home multimedia distribution in Latin America,” said Jorge Atton, CEO of Telefonica del Sur. “Together with Ruckus, we are able to maintain a high level of reliability and predictable performance over Wi-Fi that, until now, just hasn’t been possible.”

Yankee Group forecasts broadband and TV revenue in Latin America will experience solid growth: 110% for broadband by 2010 from more than $3 billion in 2005 to nearly $7 billion. Chile has been at the forefront in terms of convergence.

“TelSur has aggressively overcome many barriers that have delayed the arrival of IPTV within Latin America, such as insufficient network capacity and the high cost of service delivery to and within the home,” said Selina Lo, president and CEO of Ruckus Wireless.

Lo continued: “Around the globe, Wi-Fi is taking on a much more strategic role as the defacto connection technology to edge networks. Whether users are at home watching TV, on a park bench accessing metro Wi-Fi networks, at a hot spot watching YouTube videos on their iPhone, or at work streaming news and information over the wireless LAN, they expect a reliable connection and predictable performance. TelSur recognizes the importance of Ruckus technology to transform Wi-Fi into a reliable utility in the home. It’s one of the first broadband providers in the world to aggressively use Smart Wi-Fi to provide unique, differentiated and reliable services.”

Introducing WiTV from TelSur

Launched in July of this year, TelSur’s “WiTV” IPTV service is being offered on its broadband network between the southern Chilean cities of Concepcion and Puerto Montt. TelSur has invested heavily in upgrading and expanding its broadband network and currently has more than 270, 000 clients.

The Ruckus MediaFlex system is being bundled with TelSur’s WiTV IPTV service to subscribers as the primary wireless technology to reliably transmit multicast IPTV streams to televisions around the home.

TelSur’s basic IPTV service includes 32 IPTV channels, a Ruckus Wireless MediaFlex router and receiver, a broadband gateway and a set top box for US$20 a month. More televisions can be easily added for $5/month, which includes another Ruckus Wireless MediaFlex adapter and Amino set top box.

Over an NGN infrastructure, TelSur is delivering 20 Mbps of broadband capacity to subscribers. This will support three simultaneous MPEG-2 IPTV streams. TelSur will initially provide installation of the Ruckus Wireless MediaFlex system for its subscribers but is moving to a self-installation model. It also plans to make the Ruckus MediaFlex available in its retail outlets, thereby giving subscribers the ability to install IPTV when and where they desire.