Panhandle Telephone Cooperative deploys i5 Converged Services Platform to simultaneously launch TV and PC 'Picture' Caller ID
WOBURN, Mass., March 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Integra5, the leader in enabling service providers to blend quad play bundles into converged services that span multiple devices, today announced that quad play IPTV and digital cable TV provider Panhandle Telephone Cooperative, Inc. (PTCI) is the first operator to offer personalized, multi-device converged services with the simultaneous launch of Integra5's TV and PC 'Picture' Caller ID. Powered by the i5 Converged Services Platform (i5 CSP), the applications allow subscribers throughout PTCI's market footprint in Oklahoma and Texas to customize their communications experience across TVs and PCs.
PTCI's concurrent deployment of multiple personalized converged services demonstrates the rapid growth and evolution of this market -- beyond simple applications delivered to just one device. Service providers are now focusing on bolstering loyalty to core services through a unique, multi-device experience that subscribers can tailor and control. Using the operator-branded i5 Customer Control Portal, subscribers can log into their account on the provider Web site to add photos and set "tones," nicknames, fonts and colors for TV and PC Caller ID notifications -- along with other device and service management features.
PTCI -- an innovative provider of quad play residential and business services and one of the first telcos in the country to launch IPTV -- is offering TV Caller ID, marketed as "OnScreen Caller ID," to customers who subscribe to its digital TV and telephone caller ID services. PC Caller ID is available to high-speed Internet subscribers for a separate fee of $3 per month.
"PTCI offered a basic TV Caller ID application in the past. However, in this increasingly intense competitive environment, it became clear that we needed a long-term strategy for rapidly delivering new, differentiated services to our customers on an on-going basis," said Ron Strecker, CEO at Panhandle Telephone Cooperative. "The i5 CSP has allowed us to lay a foundation for the efficient, continuous rollout of new applications -- starting with TV and PC Caller ID -- that our subscribers can personalize and manage across TVs, PCs and mobile phones."
The i5 CSP also provides subscribers with active call control, enabling them to manage TV and PC Caller ID notifications, including the ability to: ignore a call or divert it to voicemail with the click of a button; select which TVs and PCs receive the service; and view Call Logs, which list names, numbers, dates and times associated with incoming calls.
"The ability to blend the bundle across multiple devices and put subscribers in charge of their experience with personalization and call control -- as we have seen in the mobile industry -- represents the next generation of converged communications," said Meredith Flynn-Ripley, CEO of Integra5. "By enabling operators like PTCI to rapidly launch an infinite number of new applications that extend personalization and management features, the i5 CSP moves bundled services beyond commodity status through a unique, differentiated subscriber experience, proven to drive retention."
The i5 CSP and pre-packaged converged services are deployed with IPTV and cable operators worldwide, including "top 20" MSOs Knology and WideOpenWest (WOW!), as well as BVU OptiNet, Comporium, EATEL, Everest, Foothills Telephone Cooperative and Hargray, among others.
About Panhandle Telephone Cooperative, Inc.
Panhandle Telephone Cooperative, Inc. is a progressive IPTV and digital cable provider with quad play residential and business communication services throughout the Oklahoma Panhandle and portions of the Texas Panhandle. Services include local and long-distance telephone, DITV (digital interactive TV) and digital cable TV with 140+ channels, TV Web surfing and DVR, high-speed Internet and wireless service with free mobile-to-mobile. For more information, visit http://www.ptci.net/.
About Integra5
Integra5 is the global leader in blending triple and quad play bundles into converged services. Featuring patented and patent-pending technologies, the company's i5 Converged Services Platform (i5 CSP) blends voice, video, data and mobile services into new communications and content applications for delivery across TVs, PCs and other devices. The i5 CSP works in today's IPTV and cable networks and can be seamlessly integrated into future IMS environments. Integra5 is headquartered in Woburn, Mass., and has a research and development office in Rehovot, Israel. For more information, visit http://www.integra5.com/.
Contact:
Mariah Torpey
Davies Murphy Group, Inc.
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mtorpey@daviesmurphy.com
http://www.daviesmurphy.com/
Integra5
