abertis telecom

Press room

Agreement between abertis telecom and Microsoft to offer digital terrestrial television via the internet

Barcelona, April 24th, 2007

Barcelona, 19 April 2007.- abertis telecom, the abertis group telecommunications infrastructure operator, and Microsoft have signed a collaboration agreement to work together to develop Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) via the Internet.

This collaboration between abertis telecom and Microsoft focuses on the TDT.COM project, covering the evaluation and validation of the architecture and service platforms required to support the broadcasting of audiovisual content over the Internet with the experience of accessing live content.

Given the peculiarities of the Internet as an additional vehicle for the distribution of DTT, TDT.COM is a model of convergence for both distribution models (the Internet and television), which will allow viewers to see on the Internet the same content that is broadcast on TV, opening up the way for possible collaborations between broadcasters and institutions. It will also make possible the availability of television archives on a pay-per-view basis via the Internet, and also the storage of all programmes to see them as one would at a video library.

 Technological collaboration

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Microsoft, as the main supplier of technology for the service infrastructure and for the development of the client application, will design together with abertis telecom the technological infrastructure to make all this come true. Specifically, it shall design the access platforms and the visual presentation format on the new Windows Vista and Windows XP operating systems using Windows Presentation Foundation as the latest-generation graphic interface. It shall also provide content protection tools for those authors, producers and publishers that require protection of their copyright and who wish to charge for their content.

abertis telecom’s participation is based on the provision of the infrastructure for the management and distribution of audiovisual content with Microsoft Windows Media, and it shall be responsible for content protection security with Windows Media DRM and the insertion of associated metadata to allow users to discover this new vision of DTT.

According to Francisco Monteverde, Microsoft Ibérica Director of Telecommunications and Media, “the agreement with abertis telecom allows us to help the Spanish audiovisual industry to enrich to the full end users’ experience of their services, converging DTT technologies with the Internet and enabling content providers to enjoy more direct relationship with viewers. It is a step forward in our vision of the digital home for the Spanish market”.

For his part, Carlos Espinós, Deputy Director General of abertis telecom, noted that “this strategic agreement with Microsoft allows our company to continue innovating in audiovisual content distribution platforms, so that we will always be able to provide access to our customers’ content in new broadcast formats”.

 about Abertis Telecom

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abertis telecom is Spain’s leading telecommunications infrastructures and services group, with the largest network of sites for the broadcasting and distribution of audiovisual signals. It forms part of abertis, one of the leading international transport and communications infrastructure management groups.

abertis telecom leads the way in the implementation of Digital Terrestrial Television in Spain and is working on the development of mobile DTT solutions. To this end, it has carried out pilot testing in a number of Spanish cities, together with leading companies from the audiovisual and telecommunications sectors.

The last 3GSM World Congress, held in Barcelona in February, was used as a testing ground for mobile television. abertis telecom deployed up to seven different networks to guarantee mobile TV services during the Congress.

Spain has been one of the pioneering countries in the pre-commercial launch of DTT on mobile phones. Together with Europe’s most advanced audiovisual countries, such as Finland, Germany, the United Kingdom and France, Spain is once again backing technological innovation and places itself at the vanguard of this market. For more information, go to http://www.abertistelecom.com

 About Microsoft

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Microsoft Ibérica is the Spanish subsidiary of the Microsoft Corporation. Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the world’s personal and business computing software leader. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to contribute both to the development of personal talent and to business potential, increasing efficiency, productivity and competitiveness. For more information, visit its Spanish pages on the Internet at http://www.microsoft.es/