Liberate 1.2 deployment
Endurance’s system integration capability enables the deployment of Liberate’s advanced interactive platform to a Cable MSO’s customers.
The customer
Endurance’s customer is one of the Europe’s top communication and media groups and one of the UK's largest cable companies with revenues of over £1.3B in 2001. The MSO provides TV (1.3M+ subscribers), entertainment, Internet and telephone (1.6M+ customers) services to both homes and businesses across the UK. The MSO has a state of the art broadband network, which passes 4.9m homes and 425,000 businesses.
Project overview
During the early part of 2000 the MSO chose to base a new TV offering on Liberate's client and server software in order to provide a complete interactive television solution. Initially this was via a deployment of Liberate’s version 1.1 software and early in 2002 via and upgrade to version 1.2. This upgrade was to be deployed across the network to all 1.3M subscribers. The MSO’s network provides highly advanced broadband communication with the capability to provide high-speed data and IP services. Combining a high-bandwidth two-way fibre-coaxial local network with an ultra-high capacity fibre-optic national network.
Liberate’s software consists of two main elements (1) the TV Navigator, which provides an Internet-based software platform for broadband environments and delivers television services and applications to the digital set-top boxes and (2) the Liberate Connect server software which manages the set-top boxes, provides security and administers the Internet-based services over the MSO's digital network.
Endurance were engaged as technical architects by the MSO to manage the technical aspects of the Liberate 1.2 platform deployment onto their network. This involved working closely with Liberate, the MSO as well as other parties.
Solution
Endurance was initially required to define the overall project requirements and produce a list of product discrepancies clearly identifying areas of operational impact across the MSO’s network. Following on from this activity Endurance produced an implementation and support plan, which included the production of integration tests, used for operational sign off of the Liberate upgrade within the MSO’s network regions.
Subsequently Endurance was contracted to re-design the IP platform and network and to assist with the implementation of the necessary changes. In addition Endurance advised on changes to both the Service Monitoring and Management platforms. Endurance also identified the necessary changes required within the STB software and specifically the Pace STB for which software specifications and tests were produced.
Key platform technologies
Liberate’s 1.2 interactive middleware including Liberate’s Mediacast Server, Proxy Transcoder and TV Navigator, the MSO’s Enhanced TV Gateway.
Results
The engagement lasted 15 months in total and involved a team of five consultants from Endurance as well as a number from Liberate and the MSO. The upgrade deployment was successfully completed in June of 2002 via a nationwide phased rollout across the MSO’s regions.
Endurance’s experience in large scale multi-vendor programme management, together with our well developed understanding of Liberate's platform software, helped the MSO to launch the interactive TV services facilitated by Liberate’s 1.2 software in a timely, low risk manner.
The project has put the MSO at the forefront of interactive TV provisioning in the UK by allowing the creation of truly interactive TV shows and by opening the way for online voting, gambling and game play.
Following a successful launch, Endurance are now engaged with other MSO’s requiring similar upgrades to their networks.
Endurance Technology: Enabling Digital TV
For more information, please contact Endurance.