St. John Telco using IPTV middleware from Innovative Systems

WA Cable Provider Converting To IPTV

Covering a 250 square mile area of Washington state south of Spokane, St. John Telco is replacing their Cable TV system with IPTV using the Innovative Systems IPTV Middleware for the customer experience. According to St. John General Manager Eric Trump, the decision to go with a linear IPTV service was based on offering a reliable, high quality video product to match their mission statement of offering St. John subscribers the best services available.

St. John Likes Innovatives Approach to App Based TV

Trump adds that his customers aren’t ready for a total change to app based video and said by going with the Innovative Systems solution they have the flexibility of blending in a Set Top Box free service down the road if their customers’ needs change. Trump sees a big advantage of an integrated single vendor solution that includes middleware, VOD, Cloud DVR, and encryption on one platform. Trump is unfazed by the reports that traditional TV is dying saying, “They told us in five years that traditional pay TV would be dead, but five years keeps coming and going.” Trump says his rural consumers don’t fit the mold that has been formed by the TV tech media.

Advice for Those with Aging Video Plants

Trump’s advice is to carefully examine your current video service and compare that with the commitment to service as detailed in your mission statement. He says it is important to do a plus/minus analysis with your existing feature set versus what a new system will bring to the table. Looking at the cost/benefits of adding sticky features like Restart TV are considerations that will keep your customers bundled to your internet and video services.

Trump stated that St. John chose Innovative Systems as a video partner because they answered their technical questions about IPTV delivery with more clarity than any other vendors that they talked to.