AMSTERDAM -- In 2002 Datiq data logistics and COLT-telecom, a European provider of business communication services, worked together in a pilot project for fast, cost-efficient digital transmission of high quality audio-visual material. Their partnership in this project recently acquired a permanent character.

Until recently, it was only possible to send high quality data via microwave or satellite links. The technology is complex and expensive making it available to a limited number of broadcasting companies or news agencies only. Most companies were forced to exchange audio and video on tape by courier. The datiq platform operates on the fibre optic network of COLT Telecom and is located at the media park in Hilversum, the Netherlands. A number of regional broadcasting companies participated in this pilot project, which was so successful that it culminated in a partnership between datiq and Colt.

For broadcasting companies and news agencies, sending video tapes by courier is impractical, time-consuming and expensive. However, data transmission via microwave or satellite links is technically complex and very expensive. datiq’s audio-visual distribution platform, which operates via the high quality network of COLT Telecom, offers a cheap alternative for sending audio and video data. datiq has developed a method whereby video fragments can be sent to and received from other subscribers through a single link. User groups can be created, thus creating separate environments.

A closed network is used, thus guaranteeing quality and speed. It is also possible to send data to more destinations simultaneously. Furthermore datiq makes it possible to make video fragments available on a common marketplace. These fragments can be previewed in low resolution on a PC. The datiq / COLT solution speeds up the production steps of recording, editing and broadcasting video, and renders the process more efficient.

“We want to be faster than the courier, which usually takes hours to deliver the material. This allows datiq to work with a relatively simple and cheap technique, resulting in lower rates compared to conventional systems. We bring a datiq link within reach of almost everyone who regularly sends tapes,” says Jeroen Kool, Managing Director of datiq.

Steven van den Boom, Media Account Manager of COLT agrees: "Before we had this service, most broadcasting companies in Hilversum were able to access video items from New York faster than tapes from Arnhem or Groningen. Everyone was waiting for a new method of digital video transport, and now it is available!"

COLT Telecom Group plc

Datiq Data Logistics