VTCI Selects Entone's FusionTV for Cloud Services

CUPERTINO, CA — Entone, Inc., a leading provider of Hybrid TV and Connected Home solutions, announced today that Valley Telephone Cooperative, Inc. (VTCI) has selected its FusionTV™ solution to power the delivery of hybrid TV services. The deployment creates momentum for the industry’s move to a fusion of linear TV and cloud services by broadband service operators.

Entone’s FusionTV solution will enable VTCI to offer its IPTV subscribers the best of live HDTV, DVR and cloud services via a single TV input, remote control and user interface. The 50+ content and cloud-based services that are available instantly include video on demand (VOD) content from VUDU, photo sharing from Flickr and Picasa, and popular social media apps like Facebook and Twitter.

For more than 60 years, VTCI has provided a full range of telecommunications services to rural communities in South Texas. VTCI was first in the world to deliver DSL Broadband service to 100 percent of its subscribers, and was also the first in South Texas to offer Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH).

“By leveraging our existing broadband infrastructure to offer a television service that blends linear HDTV with the best of on-demand and cloud services, we are able to keep pace with consumer demand without exceeding budgetary constraints,” said Dave Osborn, CEO at VTCI. “Entone’s FusionTV solution enables us to deliver a differentiated IPTV solution that drives subscriber growth while providing a connected-home platform for deploying new revenue-generating services as they emerge.”

Entone’s FusionTV solution allows VTCI to roll out a unique pay-TV service that can increase the average revenue per user (ARPU) and bolster subscriber satisfaction, all without the upfront capital investment and content acquisition complexities of proprietary VOD systems. FusionTV is seamlessly integrated with leading IPTV middleware and digital rights management (DRM) solutions. With a simple software update, VTCI subscribers can instantly access and enjoy VUDU’s streaming library of over 30,000 titles and popular Web applications and services without a truck roll.

“With the increase of OTT services, consumers expect and demand a more integrated video experience. In this competitive environment, pay-TV service providers need a cost-optimized approach to delivering a unique entertainment experience that will drive growth,” said Ameer Karim, Vice President of Hybrid TV Solutions at Entone. “Our FusionTV platform provides a flexible managed service architecture that enables VTCI to increase the value of their existing deployments. We look forward to supporting VTCI as they roll out advanced IP services.”