NRTC and NTCA Launch IP-PRIME

North Central Telephone Cooperative Signs First Contract to Participate

HERNDON, Va., — Today, The National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC) and the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA) announced the launch of the Internet Protocol television (IPTV) solution for the rural telco industry.

Now, NRTC and NTCA members may bring IPTV to rural America through two business opportunities designed for rural telcos: 1) an end-to-end IPTV service using SES AMERICOM’s IP-PRIME(R), a centralized, satellite-delivered IPTV distribution solution content transport, headend, and set-top box solutions and 2) a programming-only solution for telcos with existing headend facilities or other transport arrangements. The announcement came during this morning’s general session at the NTCA Fall Conference in Denver, CO. During the session, NRTC president and CEO Bob Phillips announced that North Central Telephone Cooperative, Inc., located in Lafayette, TN, has signed the first non-beta contract to distribute IPTV using the IP-PRIME solution.

Currently, North Central Telephone, which serves over 22,000 customers, offers digital cable to its customers, but will use IP-PRIME to supplement its cable system and extend the value of its DSL network. North Central Telephone Cooperative President and CEO Tom Rowland said of the decision, “We looked around at a number of vendors, and we made this decision for two reasons — because the programming options are solid and because I have confidence in both NTCA and NRTC.” Rowland, the current president of NTCA, continued, “NTCA and NRTC understood that rural telcos need a video solution that serves our industry, they are delivering, and I want to support that.”

NRTC serves cooperative and independent telephone operators in a market of more than 10 million homes. “To compete effectively in their markets, rural telcos need a video offering that can be integrated into their network affordably and one that can differentiate them from cable and satellite,” said NRTC President and CEO Bob Phillips. “With NRTC’s programming distribution rights and IP-PRIME for transport, rural telcos have a breakthrough, first-of-its-kind solution that will allow them to offer a compelling entertainment package.”

“NTCA invested in NRTC’s programming and transport offering to promote an affordable video solution, especially for smaller rural telcos,” said Michael E. Brunner, NTCA chief executive officer. “The IP-PRIME transport solution enables a smaller system to enter the market competitively and extend the value of fiber or DSL infrastructure.”

In early August, NRTC ended its test of IP-PRIME, which began in April of 2006 and involved extensive testing and validation of all aspects of each telco’s IPTV ecosystem.

West Kentucky Rural Telephone Cooperative, which serves more than 19,000 customers, and BEK Communications, a telecommunications cooperative serving 6,000 customers in south central North Dakota, are now offering video services through IP-PRIME. The remaining beta testers, Planters Rural Telephone Cooperative, of Newington, GA, and Valley Telephone Cooperative, of Raymondville, Texas, will move into the customer trial period later this year.

IP-PRIME originates from the SES AMERICOM IPTV Broadcast Center in Vernon Valley, New Jersey, where video and audio are received and processed for distribution via satellite to IP-PRIME-equipped telco video hubs nationwide. The solution is based on the MPEG-4 digital video standard that offers improved video quality together with greater bandwidth efficiency over the MPEG-2 standard. The MPEG-4 standard makes IP-PRIME particularly ideal for enabling networks to accommodate numerous applications and features, as well as accommodate the explosive growth in HDTV channels.

“SES AMERICOM has utilized our decades of experience to build a turnkey IPTV service,” said Bill Squadron, President of IP-PRIME. “We invested tens of millions of dollars and over two years developing IP-PRIME, and put the solution through extensive testing so we can be sure we’re offering our customers the most complete, easiest-to-deploy and most cost-effective path for them to offer their subscribers state-of the-art, MPEG-4 television service. It will be the most flexible, robust platform for consumers to experience conventional TV, HDTV, and interactivity over the coming years.”

With the signing of this first contract with North Central Telephone, NRTC and NTCA are making the IP-PRIME, virtual headend, solution available to other rural telcos. NRTC Senior Vice President Steve Bing touted the benefits to telcos that sign up to deliver IP-PRIME before the end of 2007, saying, “Early adopters of the NRTC/NTCA IP-PRIME offering will receive discounts on programming and will have the full benefit of NRTC’s marketing and training support during launch. We welcome rural telcos that are ready to deliver IPTV.”