Belgacom has a bet each way to get IPTV around the home

Stuart Corner
Saturday, 14 October 2006 13:02

Business IT - Technology

Belgian telco, Belgacom has chosen both broadband over powerline technology from Corinex and Ruckus' Wireless enhanced WiFi technology to enable customers of its IPTV service to distribute signals to devices around their homes, highlighting the battle between these two technologies for this market.

Belgacom's new IPTV package will supply equipment from Corinex based on 200Mbps chipsets from Spanish company, DS2 enabling customers to use their existing home electrical wiring to connect an ADSL modem to a TV set top box to deliver the signal throughout the home.

According to a press release from DS2, "This new generation of 200Mbps DS2-based powerline products is the only technology that eliminates dead spots by offering the speed and quality of service required to distribute video throughout the whole home."

In a separate announcement, Ruckus Wireless announced that it had been selected by Belgacom to supply in-home 'smart WiFi' systems to support its popular digital broadband TV service, Belgacom TV.

According to Ruckus Wireless, its just-released smart WiFi system, MediaFlex NG, / "is the-first-of-its-kind in-home wireless platform that uses patent-pending technology to increase the reliability of Wi-Fi signals, extend their range and automatically steer them around interference in real-time."A

ccording to Ruckus Wireless, "The Ruckus MediaFlex system is pre-configured for Belgacom and its customers and can be installed in a matter of minutes. Belgacom will continue to offer a wired option that requires a technician to come to the home to install Ethernet cabling over the course of two to three hours." It said that approximately 60 percent of Belgacom's triple play customers choose self-installation.

Belgacom is offering consumers the Ruckus MediaFlex system at a one-time nominal cost in lieu of cable installation. It is also making the system available in some 150 Belgacom retail and dealer outlets.

No information was available as to how Belgacom will choose between supplying the Corinex BPL or the Ruckus WiFi technology, or whether this will be a decision for the customer to make.