Virgin Media Inc (VMED) has decided to upgrade its IPTV distribution platform and legacy digital TV infrastructure using Cisco System Inc’s (CSCO) digital video head-end technology. Virgin is currently rolling-out a high-speed diversified video and TV content delivery network. Cisco will install a large array of its IP core and edge network products in all the regional and central head-end points of Virgin. The product array will include Cisco 7609 routers, 4948 10-Gigabits Ethernet switches, digital content manager, RF gateways, multicast manager, and ROSA control & monitoring system.
This upgraded system will support the entire 12.6 million customers of Virgin. The simplified infrastructure will help the company to reduce operating expenses, support the rollout of new conditional-access security services, and accelerate the introduction of new standard- and high-definition services. Virgin has decided to install Cisco’s next-generation platform of video content delivery to leverage its existing DOCSIS 3.0 network. Recently, the company has become the first wideband service provider in the UK offering 50 Mbps download speed. Trial runs are also going on for a 200 Mbps download speed Wideband network based on the EuroDOCSIS standard of 8 MHz channels.
Virgin has also decided to deploy a hybrid cable gateway to integrate traditional QAM-based video and IP-based content using embedded DOCSIS 3.0 modems. Beside Cisco, Texas Instrument Inc (TXN) is another contender to provide these hybrid set-top boxes to Virgin. Leading global cable MSOs like Time Warner Cable Inc (TWC), Cox Communications Inc, and BigBand Networks Inc (BBND) have also decided to implement hybrid cable gateways to more efficiently deliver IP-based video contents.
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