HwaCom partnership drives openness and flexibility in IPTV

* Ericsson broadens end to end IPTV solution with Taiwanese HwaCom
* Integration of HwaCom set-top boxes based on Open IPTV Forum (OIPF) standards
* Extends Ericsson’s market leadership in Asian IPTV market

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) has entered a strategic partnership with Taiwanese set-top box (STB) vendor HwaCom System Inc. to integrate the company’s open standards based STBs into the Ericsson IPTV system. The move means that Ericsson is now able to offer pre-integrated set-top boxes from five different vendors creating benefits for customers in terms of cost efficiency and flexibility when implementing the Ericsson IPTV solution.

The global agreement will further broaden the Ericsson IPTV offering as well as re-enforce its market leadership position in Asia. According to research group MRG, Ericsson is the leading video head end provider to IPTV operators in Asia. Hwacom System Inc. is a major IP STB provider in Asia, and its customers include Chunghwa Telecom in Taiwan.

“We are committed to providing operators around the world with flexible and open solutions that enable innovative service development and foster creative marketing options in the IPTV arena. This partnership with HwaCom is an important move that further strengthens our leading position in IPTV,” said Ove Anebygd, Head of IPTV & Connected Home, Solution Area TV, Ericsson.

Ericsson and Hwacom are committed to supporting an open IPTV environment and driving the mass market for IPTV services. The companies have collaborated for the past two years as members of the Open IPTV Forum and most recently worked together to demonstrate an open IPTV integrated ecosystem for the Singaporean institution, IDA.

“Looking at the IPTV development in the next few years, HwaCom sees a trend towards an open and standardized service delivery chain. We believe the innovation and easy access derived from such an open platform will help to better provide IPTV user’s true needs. By partnering with Ericsson, the leading IPTV solution provider, we can effectively and timely enable HwaCom’s belief into reality. Meanwhile, the synergy demonstrated in addressing customer’s expectation also proves a win-win-win cooperation in developing IPTV markets,“ said Gary Chen, the Chairman and CEO of HwaCom System Inc.