Tele2 Netherlands selects Espial's IPTV middleware

Leading Dutch IPTV Operator to launch next generation television platform with Espial’s Evo TV Service Platform

OTTAWA — Espial® (TSX:ESP), a leader in the delivery of digital and IP TV (Internet Protocol Television) software, today announced that Tele2 Netherlands has selected Espial’s IPTV middleware for its IPTV service. Tele2 Netherlands will use the Evo TV Service Platform to launch its next generation television platform. With this platform Tele2 provides advanced services including linear TV, Video-on-demand, High Definition, PVR (Personal Video Recorder) and interactive services.

Tele2 Netherlands has emerged as one of the largest telecommunications operators in the Netherlands since they began business 12 years ago. They started their business with fixed telephony services and over time have become a multi-play provider with the addition of mobile services, Internet services and television services. As the first operator to offer IPTV services in the Netherlands, they have gained deep knowledge and experience in pay TV services.

“It is essential for Tele2 to provide a rich set of high performance, interactive television services to our consumers. We evaluated several middleware products during a rigorous evaluation process and chose Espial’s IPTV middleware. It met our selection criteria for its scalability, rapid service creation capabilities and ease of portability to set-top boxes” stated Gunther Vogelpoel, Managing Director Consumer of Tele2 Netherlands. “Espial’s middleware is a critical element of our next generation television strategy. We are counting on Espial’s platform to deliver innovative new services, differentiate our brand experience and to provide a highly responsive user experience.”

“Tele2 Netherlands is one of the IPTV pioneers in Europe and we’re honoured to be chosen for their next generation digital television platform. Their evaluation process was based on stringent requirements from lessons they’ve learned from years of delivering IPTV services” stated Jaison Dolvane, CEO of Espial. “The selection of our IPTV middleware testifies to the scalability, robustness and rich capabilities of our IPTV middleware, Evo TV Service Platform. We look forward to working with Tele2 to launch their advanced interactive television services.”