Tasmanian Government hands out TiVos to trial NBN apps

Stuart Corner
Wednesday, 25 November 2009 08:45

Your IT - Home IT

The Tasmanian Government has teamed up with TiVo's Australian distributor, Hybrid Television Services, to provide TiVos to existing FTTH customer on the TasCOLT network in order to research future NBN applications.

Tasmanian premier, David Bartlett, said the project, Hybrid SmartStreet, would be "the first of many involving the State Government, which will demonstrate the value of the National Broadband Network to Tasmanian families and businesses...Tasmanians who already have fibre to the premises through the State Government's previous TasCOLT trial will be invited to participate in a 12 month SmartStreet trial...Participants will be given a TiVo media device which in addition to providing access to high definition TV, will allow access to existing broadband services via Hybrid TV's CASPA portal. These services will be delivered into people's homes on their TV screens and accessed via a remote control."

CASPA is the new service from Hybrid TV, due to be launched in Sydney today , that delivers videos on demand to a TiVo via broadband service.

Bartlett said the State Government had become involved with the Hybrid SmartStreet project "to gain a better understanding of people's broadband behaviour, how they like to interact with this new technology and to learn about the type of services made possible by the NBN, that Tasmanians actually want in the future and would subscribe to." Bartlett promised that the results of the project would be made public to inform future application development," Mr Bartlett said.
 
The agreement between the Government and Hybrid Television will see the development, delivery and trial of three core government services via participants' TV screens. "These services will revolve around education, emergency services such as fire readiness and what to do in an emergency, and around developing a community in the home," Bartlett said.
 
The Tasmanian Government has committed to covering customers' access fee plus the cost of installation and support services, up to $100,000. The money will come from within the Department of Economic Development's existing budget. The government has not given any indication of how many customers will be able to get TiVos under the scheme.

According to a report on the TasCOLT network , dated October 2008, "The TasCOLT network passes approximately 1,200 premises in New Town, South Hobart and Devonport...Approximately 600 property owners consented to have the optic fibre cable connected directly to the facia of the property...[with] in excess of 300 customers signing up for the full range of 'triple play' services available."