Citizens Bolsters Its IPTV

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Occam® Networks Inc. (OTCBB: OCCM - News), a supplier of innovative Ethernet- and IP-based loop carrier equipment to telecommunications companies worldwide, and Infogate Online Ltd., a leader in software solutions for IPTV, video on demand (VOD) and games on demand over broadband networks, today announced that the two companies have deployed Windows Media Video 9 (Microsoft's implementation of VC-1, the proposed SMPTE standard) in the IPTV access network of Virginia-based Citizens Telephone Cooperative to provide the independent operating company (IOC) with a more efficient means to deliver additional TV channels and video streams with less bandwidth. This is the first deployment that combines Windows Media Video 9 for video on demand (VOD) and MPEG-2 on the same middleware platform in a live telco access network.

“We are pleased with the solution developed by Occam and Infogate," said Danny Vaughn, network manager at Citizens Telephone Cooperative. "We want to provide our subscribers with as many services as possible, but we want to deliver them in a way that doesn't use an enormous amount of our backbone network bandwidth. Using Windows Media Video 9 (VC-1) is a more efficient way to increase the number of video streams and channels Citizens can deliver."

The solution developed for Citizens uses the Occam Broadband Loop Carrier, Infogate's OnDema(TM) middleware, Windows Media Video 9, CE appliance software and Bast set top boxes to simultaneously deliver multiple VOD streams at 1.5Mbps. Citizens has installed Windows Media Encoder 9 Series on a Hewlett-Packard server and is using a ViewCast® Niagara® video card encoder to encode video content. The solution is installed across the entire IOC's access network and is delivering services across its 7500 access lines.

"Occam Networks and Infogate's choice of Windows Media Video 9 (VC-1) will allow Citizens Telephone Cooperative to efficiently deliver broadcast-quality video to the home via DSL and HDTV," said Kevin Unangst, director of Windows Digital Media at Microsoft Corp. "This is a strong endorsement of the high quality and efficiency of Windows Media Video 9 and the value it brings to high-quality content delivery solutions."

Windows Media Encoder 9 Series is a powerful tool for content producers who want to take advantage of the many innovations in Windows Media Video 9 (VC-1) including high-quality multichannel sound, high-definition video quality, new support for mixed-mode voice and music content, and more. VC-1 recently reached the critical step of Final Committee Draft (FCD) status with SMPTE's C24 Technology Committee, in which it is officially referenced as SMPTE standard 421M.

"Infogate's OnDema middleware platform is the perfect solution for an IPTV service such as Citizens, providing the capability to combine Windows Media Video 9 (VC-1) for VOD and MPEG-2 for TV channels on a single platform," said Daniel Levy, vice president of sales and marketing at Infogate Online Ltd. "We are excited to be part of a solution that will make it easier and more cost-effective for Citizens to deliver such advanced services."

Infogate Online Ltd.

Occam Networks Inc.