CompleteTV announces Indian IPTV licensing agreement with Surbhi Broadband

Basingstoke – 6 September 2007:  CompleteTV today announces that it has agreed a deal with Indian cable and communication equipment manufacturer Surbhi BroadBand Pvt. Ltd. to licence its latest Set Top Media Centre (STMC-LE) technology for the Indian market.  

Unveiled at IBC 2007, it is anticipated that Surbhi – India’s largest manufacturer of cable television hardware - will produce 100,000 of the CompleteTV’s ‘Houdini’ set top before the end of the year, with a further 1 million in 2008.

Under the terms of the agreement Surbhi will manufacture CompleteTV’s STMC range of set tops as own-brand products.  Using CompleteTV’s end-to-end IPTV hardware, middleware and services Surbhi will be able to provide its customers with a comprehensive IPTV solution.

CompleteTV’s co-founder Philip Smith explains, “This is the first deal of its type by a UK IPTV firm.  The licencing agreement will enable Surbhi to provide its customers with a flexible IPTV solution and gain a significant competitive advantage in the Indian IPTV industry.  The Indian IPTV market is forecast to grow massively1 over the next couple of years and we’re proud that CompleteTV’s technology will be a substantial force in the growth of this market.“

The STMC range has been designed to deliver the next generation of IPTV services with fully upgradeable software and hardware options.  This flexibility means Indian service providers can adapt their offerings to meet evolving consumer demands and deliver new services including information, communication, enhanced video and entertainment services - that help increase revenue opportunities and build loyalty without expensive equipment hardware swap outs or software upgrades each time.”

Piyush Mishra, General Manager Sales at Surbhi comments, “We have built our business on the success of the cable television industry but we firmly believe that future for Indian broadcasting will be IPTV.  With such a diverse viewing audience, IPTV offers Indian broadcasters, content producers and ISPs the opportunity to deliver content direct to consumers using established Internet infrastructures, rather than building expensive proprietary networks.  “Our licensing agreement with CompleteTV will enable Surbhi to establish itself as the leading manufacturer of the IPTV technology over the next two years.”

Journalists and analysts are invited to speak with Piyush Mishra from Surbhi and to see the new STMC in action for themselves at booth 4.385 during IBC 2007.