Tiscali signs with Cisco to supply video headend architecture and encoding equipment for Tiscali.tv

October 7, 2008 - Cisco has signed an agreement with Italian telco Tiscali to supply its Cisco Internet Protocol Next-Generation Network (IP NGN) and Cisco IP television headend equipment and technology for the telco's 'Tiscali.tv' IPTV service, as well as systems integration services.

The video headend, which was designed, configured and installed by Cisco, employs MPEG-4 encoding for the standard-definition IPTV service, offered to Tiscali customers in Cagliari, Rome, Milan, Bologna, Firenze, Genova, Napoli, Palermo and Torino.

“The importance of video in a triple-play service package cannot be underestimated,” said Fabrizio Meli, Tiscali’s head of IPTV. “We teamed with Cisco for this critical service launch to take advantage of Cisco’s skills, knowledge and local support for our network in Italy, which is part of one of the broadest and most interconnected IP technology-based networks in the world.”