LIME parent CWC partners with Avail-TVN to provide IPTV Streaming Service - War of The Worlds against Netflix

Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.

Mark Twain, Pudd’nhead Wilson’s New Calendar

If free-to-air Broadcasters of the ilk of Television Jamaica and CVM TV thought that IPTV Streaming was a joke, then they are soon to be in for a very rude awakening. Lights please!!

Telecom Provider LIME, which has dipped its foot into the Broadcasting arena as a DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcaster – Handheld) Broadcaster named LIME TV, has decided to throw it hat into the IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) Streaming ring as stated in the article “LIME's cable TV technology will be able to offer up to 130 channels”, published Wednesday, October 05, 2011, The Jamaica Observer.

LIME TV was not only already challenging Broadcasting with its “TV-Anywhere” concept as stated in my blog article entitled “LIME TV and Broadcasting - Hunt for Red October” and the article “LIME TV and Broadcasting - The Andromeda Strain and My Science Project” but also the five (5) year debutante, Triple Play Provider FLOW.

Thus an accelerated expansion of Telecom Provider LIME to make this service available to areas outside of the Corporate Area and Greater Portmore, specifically the rural areas where people are demanding Cable TV alternatives and Internet Access in places where Triple Play Provider FLOW may have no interest to cover as stated in my blog article entitled“FLOW, IPTV and the coming of Net2Vu - Johnny Mnemonic”.

IPTV Streaming Competition is coming just in time for London Olympics slated for July 27^th 2012AD!! The picture says it all, folks!

Look’s like Telecom Provider LIME is taking some of the advice of my blog article entitled “LIME look to the future with new Services - Video and Audio Friends with Benefits in the Dead Zone” and the article “Broadcasters, LIME TV and IPTV - Kill and Kill Again and the London 2012 Olympics”.

Now this new service is slated to come on stream by the First Quarter of 2012AD, April 2012AD to be exact. And this time, it is not LIME Jamaica that is pushing the service, but the Parent Company CWC (Cable and Wireless Communications) in partnership with Cable Service Provider Avail-TVN.

CWC's and LIME Jamaica Joint Press Release also reveals the guinea pigs as being Jamaica and Barbados, quote: “The service will launch commercially in Jamaica and Barbados in Q4, with expansion across the Caribbean to follow in 2012”.

Apparently liking the success of LIME TV, the parent has decided to go full-throttle. But to be straight honest, it looks more like a fear of the coming challenge and dominance of Netflix in the IPTV Streaming as stated in my blog article entitled “Netflix coming to Latin America - Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer”.

Not to mention Google’s strategic purchase of Motorola Mobility and their push into the EU (European Union) as per my blog article entitled “Google TV making push into the EU – Motorola Mobility Purchase Die Another Day”.

In effect, this is the promised new as yet named “Cable TV Service” mentioned at their AGM (Annual General Meeting) held at the Wyndham Hotel on Wednesday July 27^th 2011AD in the article “LIME Charts A Future Of New Products, Cable TV Service”, published Friday July 29, 2011,by Steven Jackson, Business Reporter, The Jamaica Gleaner. The IPTV Service uses Telecom Provider LIME 3G Broadband Network, which thus far only has coverage in Kingston, Montego Bay (I hope!!), Ocho Rios and Portmore.

Avail-TVN CEO Ramu Potarazu brims with confidence as he expounds the advantage of their Company’s IPTV Platform, quote: “Avail-TVN is very excited to be partnering with Cable & Wireless and LIME on this groundbreaking [multi-platform] solution that leapfrogs traditional TV delivery models. We look forward to celebrating successful launches in the Caribbean and elsewhere over the coming months.”

VP (Vice President) of TV and Entertainment at LIME Diane Bissoon, (any relation to Debbie Bissoon of Television Jamaica?) is equally upbeat about the partnership, quote: “Avail-TVN has provided the full package...from technology to content - that allows us to quickly and cost-effectively launch a compelling, multi-screen video offering that delivers true value to our subscribers, with the quality and security our content partners demand”.

Apparently in this partnership, Avail-TVN is doing all the heavy lifting in terms of NOC (Network Operations Center) monitoring to ensure QoS, with Telecom Provider LIME merely providing the infrastructure over which the service is being exclusively delivered.

True to their word on being a full service provider, Telecom Provider LIME is utilizing their 3G Broadband Network to deliver IPTV Streaming service sporting the following specs only a Telecoms Technician could appreciate:

1.      MPEG-4 Compressed Video Stream for efficient bandwidth usage

2.      3D Capable (Triple Play Provider FLOW, take note!!!!)

3.      Support for up to 130 channels, (albeit this is no longer a big talking point!)

4.      Streaming to 3G Capable Cable Boxes as well as any 3G Capable Device

5.      ABR (Adaptive Bit Rate)

6.      TV Anywhere

Point to note: ABR is really a feature of the 3G Network switching from QPSK (Quadrature Phased Shifted Keying) in UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) mode for slower 3G speeds in areas with significantly more signal interference to QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) in HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) mode for higher speeds in areas with significantly less signal interference.

Also, “TV Anywhere”, strictly speaking,  would imply not only streaming over Telecom Provider LIME Wireless 3G Platform, but thanks to the new IPTV Streaming License from the Broadcasting Commission, over any Wired or Wireless Broadband Internet Service to any device, be it smartphone, Tablet or Web-enabled TV as noted in my Geezam Blog article entitled “Web-enabled Television Sets Sales Rise – The Apple Television cometh”.

Triple Play Provider FLOW had better hurry up with the roll-out of their faster Cable Broadband Speeds as well as their 3D HDTV Channel Service as stated in my blog article entitled “FLOW goes 3D HDTV as Netflix cometh - XFinity follow-on indicates Streaming's Deep Impact” and the Geezam Blog article entitled “FLOW goes 3D HDTV et al – Netflix to make FLOW Extinct”.

Ditto too for the upgrade to DTT (Digital Terrestrial Television) as well as IPTV Streaming and Web TV for the free-to-air Broadcasters Television Jamaica and CVM TV as noted in my blog article entitled “Traditional News Media vs Broadband Telecoms - GigaOM's Avoiding ELE After Deep Impact”.

This as LIME TV, powered by the soon-to-come-online HSDPA+ Release 7 (High Speed Downlink Packet Access Plus) Network Upgrade slated to go live in December of 2012AD as stated in my blog article entitled “LIME's US$80 million Caribbean HSDPA+ Release 7 Upgrade - Sonic the Hedgehog” heralds Telecom Provider LIME’s War of the Worlds (2005)against the coming Latin American (including the Caribbean!!) IPTV Streaming invasion led by the aliens Netflix and Google TV.