Canal+ introduces prepaid cards for IPTV

French pay-TV provider Canal+ is offering parts of its programming free of charge to subscribers of the Orange TV and BBox IPTV platforms until December 1. The operator has also introduced prepaid cards for IPTV viewers.

The move is part of a big marketing push by the pay-TV operator to increase the number of subscribers to its main premium channels, Canal+, Canal+ Décalé, Canal+ Sport, Canal+ Family and Canal+ Cinéma. Orange TV as well as Bouygues Telecom’s BBox customers can watch eight hours a day of premium programming for free.

The Canal+ group has also introduced pre-paid cards for triple play subscribers to the IPTV services from Orange, SFR, Free, Alice, Darty and Bouygues Telecom. For €10 people have one week access to the five main channels from Canal+, or to the CanalSat thematic bouquet.

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New White Paper, "European Mobile Market: Beyond Price-based Strategies"

Parks Associates has released a new white paper, "European Mobile Market: Beyond Price-based Strategies."

This new white paper examines challenges for mobile carriers in Europe and strategies to sustain ARPU and expand their base of postpaid users.

• Regulations, Competition, and Churn

• Evolving Beyond Price-based Strategies

• Examples of New Strategies: Vodafone, Telefonica, T-Mobile, & Orange

• The Road Ahead - Evolution of Carrier Strategies

To download this white paper, complete this online form.

Other recent white papers include Google TV- Searching for Success and Consumer Attitudes and the Benefits of Smart Grid Technologies.

CONNECTIONS™ Europe explores new roles for mobile devices and communications services

CONNECTIONS Europe: Monetizing Connectivity and User Interfaces, November 15-16 in Amsterdam, features the session “Mobile Video: The Cloud, the App Store, & the Connected Home” to examine these new mobile business strategies. Parks Associates forecasts data ARPU will continue to grow to almost 50% of per-user revenues for mobile services by 2014.

VP of Research and Principal Analyst, Kurt Scherf will moderate “Mobile Video: The Cloud, the App Store, & the Connected Home” on November 16, the final day of CONNECTIONS Europe.

Session Speakers:

-- David Noguer Bau, Head of Carrier Ethernet & Multiplay Marketing, Juniper Networks
-- Martial Bellec, Innovation Programme Manager, France Telecom-Orange Labs
-- Klaus Milczewsky, Senior Manager, Deutsche Telekom AG
-- Peter Percosan, Chief Technology Officer, Cable Europe Labs
-- Andy Tiller, Marketing Vice Chair, Femto Forum

For more information, visit http://www.connectionseurope.com.

CONNECTIONS addresses potential of new 3D and connected TV enhancements

The percentage of U.S. broadband households purchasing CE continues to decline year over year, falling from 87% in 2007 to 76% in 2009.

Already over one-half of households are spending less on CE in 2010 than they did the year before. The recession has deeply affected consumer spending, but several product categories have defied the downward trend. Industries can develop new revenue streams by building off of these devices, such as Web-based apps or 3D programming for connected LCD TVs or support services bundled with a new computer purchase.

CONNECTIONS™ will feature multiple sessions in the Consumer Electronics track discussing the state of the market and business strategies to leverage these devices:

· Design Elements for Connected CE
· Monetizing Connected CE
· The Future of the Set-top Box
· 3DTV

The panels will feature speakers from 2Wire, Actiontec Electronics, ActiveVideo Networks, Allegro Software Development Corporation, BigBand Networks, BridgeCo, Cisco Systems, Gigle Networks, Motorola, Orange/France Telecom Group, PacketVideo, ProVision, RedMere, Roxio CinemaNow, Technicolor, Xpand, Yahoo!, and Zenverge.

CONNECTIONS™ will also feature the keynote presentation “TV Technology in the New Age of Consumer Buying,” from Scott Birnbaum, Vice President, Samsung LCD Business, on June 9 at 10:00 a.m.

Microsoft Unveils Windows Phone 7 Series

At Mobile World Congress 2010, Microsoft Corp. unveiled the next generation of Windows Phones, Windows Phone 7 Series.

With this new platform and the for the first time ever, Microsoft will bring together Xbox LIVE games and the Zune music and video experience on a mobile phone.

Every Windows Phone 7 Series phone will come with a dedicated hardware button for Bing, providing one-click access to search from anywhere on the phone, while a special implementation of Bing search provides intent-specific results, delivering the most relevant Web or local results, depending on the type of query.

Windows Phone 7 Series includes six hubs built on specific themes reflecting activities that matter most to people:

People. This hub delivers an engaging social experience by bringing together relevant content based on the person, including his or her live feeds from social networks and photos.

Pictures. This hub makes it easy to share pictures and video to a social network in one step.

Games. This hub delivers the first and only official Xbox LIVE experience on a phone.

Music + Video. This hub creates an incredible media experience that brings the best of Zune, including content from a user’s PC, online music services and even a built-in FM radio into one simple place that is all about music and video.

Marketplace. This hub allows the user to easily discover and load the phone with certified applications and games.

Office. This hub brings the familiar experience of the world’s leading productivity software to the Windows Phone. With access to Office, OneNote and SharePoint Workspace all in one place, users can easily read, edit and share documents.

Partners from around the world have committed to include Windows Phone 7 Series in their portfolio plans. They include mobile operators AT&T, Deutsche Telekom AG, Orange, SFR, Sprint, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telstra, T-Mobile USA, Verizon Wireless and Vodafone, and manufacturers Dell, Garmin-Asus, HTC Corp., HP, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and Qualcomm Inc. The first phones will be available by holiday 2010.

Telcordia Next Generation Service Delivery & Charging Solution Nominated for Award

Telcordia Delivers Performance Demanded by Mission-Critical Telecom Applications

Telcordia announced its Service Delivery & Charging Suite, currently deployed by more than 35 mobile operators worldwide, is a nominee for the Global Mobile Awards in the Best Billing or Customer Care Solution category.

The Telcordia Service Delivery & Charging Suite includes products, solutions and hosted services that enable Communication Service Providers (CSPs) to quickly differentiate themselves in hyper-competitive and hyper-growth markets with innovative service offerings. The suite has been widely adopted across the globe, by CSPs such as Tata Teleservices India, Uninor India, Aircel India, Oi Brazil, Orange UK, Chunghwa and Swisscom. The suite includes the Telcordia® Real-Time Charging solution.

The Telcordia Service Delivery & Charging Suite provides a service-creation environment that enables innovative service differentiation for mobile, fixed, cable and convergent networks; a telecom application server to run next generation prepaid and converged charging; pre-built services including bandwidth management , personalized advertising and mobile business applications; a carrier-proven SIP server designed for convergent networks; and a large scale in-memory subscriber database that holds customer accounts and policies with a proven architecture that scales to hundreds of millions of subscribers.

For more information about Telcordia, visit www.telcordia.com.

Orange VP delivers Keynote at CONNECTIONS Europe Nov '09

Pierre François Dubois, Vice President, Very High Broadband and Digital Home Products, Technocentre, Orange presented the keynote presentation at the CONNECTIONS Europe Summit held November 4, 2009 in Amsterdam.

They not only provide the customers with broadband and other services, they have offers for the connected home. They have invested massively in LivePlug and Wi-Fi. In addition, they have invested in specific devices – Liveradio (access to more than 4,000 Web radio stations), digital photo frame, and partnership with La Cie on NAS device. Unik relies on UMA solution that enables handover from mobile and GSM. It was in 2005, a growth milestone, where the triple-play offer was the flagship offer. There is opportunity for Orange to increase its share of households budget in multimedia and IT, which is becoming more and more digital.

What are Orange customers willing to pay for in terms of additional services? Customers’ expectations have moved. The perceived value is moving from access to terminals. From demand for services to demand for fewer boxes, connection of all screens, share emotions and content with friends. Customers want to keep it simple and reliable and customer care is key.

The Digital Home is about how to give access to content and applications to individuals through available screens. Today, triple-play includes one room, one device, and one function. The Digital Home includes content and applications that can follow one at home and away and be instantiated on any available screen. The industry is moving to fulfill these expectations: connected devices opportunities from flat screen HDTV to Connected TV and application stores and user interfaces.

In conclusion, Orange believes that technology has to fade behind services, for the benefit of everyone. They are working to provide new packages for the digital home. Residential gateways operated by telcos are the cornerstone to provide customers with a seamless and full experience of the digital home.

Wrapping it Up – Predictions for the Next Five Years, CONN EU panel

Parks Associates wraps up CONNECTIONS™ Europe Summit with a recap of key findings on the last panel, Wrapping it Up – Predictions for the Next Five Years . Parks Associates provides perspectives and predictions for five key digital lifestyles markets in Europe:

• Broadcast and entertainment services

• Communications and broadband services

• Home networking

• Home monitoring and green-living technologies

• Device management and support services

Speakers include:

Fabrizio Caffarelli, CEO, TVBLOB
Philippe Calvet, Head of Home & Broadband Networks Standards in Orange Strategy & Development group, Orange/France Telecom; Head of Business Group & Board Member, HGI
Bill Correll, VP, Marketing & Business Development, Eyecon Technologies
Trond Neergaard, Founder and Managing Partner, Cloudberry Associates; Member of CTAM Europe Board
Paolo Pastorino, Business Development and Marketing Manager, Loquendo
Stuart Sikes, President, Parks Associates
Kurt Scherf, Vice President, Principal Analyst, Parks Associates

CONNECTIONS Europe announces new speakers including Orange, TVBLOB, Adobe, Omnifone, and ProVision Communications

Parks Associates today announced new speakers for CONNECTIONS™ Europe, featuring executive expertise in IPTV, connected CE, and advanced video services.

CONNECTIONS™ Europe panelists will address key industry issues: the development roadmap for digital lifestyle technologies and applications; adoption and revenue forecasts of key connected device and service categories; an examination of the business models for video and entertainment content and applications, online services, and communications

Pierre François Dubois, VP Very High Broadband & Digital Home Products, Technocentre, Orange, will present the opening keynote. Other participating speakers include:

- Ronald Brockmann, Managing Director, ActiveVideo Europe
- Richard Bullwinkle, Chief Evangelist, Rovi Corporation
- Wim Bus, SVP, Product Management & Operations, Civolution
- Fabrizio Caffarelli, CEO, TVBLOB
- Bill Correll, VP, Mktg & Bus Development, Eyecon Technologies
- Keith Donovan, Sales & Mktg Dir., Intamac Systems
- Jon Finegold, Co-Founder & COO, Thinking Screen Media
- Matthew Huntington, VP, Product Mktg, OpenTV
- Art Lancaster, CTO, Affinegy
- Christer Larsson, CEO & Co-founder of Makewave; VP EMEA, OSGi Alliance
- Wouter Leibbrandt, Mgr Advanced Systems Lab, NXP Semiconductors
- Rob Lewis, CEO, Omnifone
- Theodore May, VP Content & Value Added Services, Synacor
- Trond Neergaard, Founder & Managing Partner, Cloudberry Associates; Member, CTAM Europe Board
- Patrik Nilsson, Director, Adobe
- Paolo Pastorino, Bus Development & Mktg Mgr, Loquendo
- Kurt Scherf, VP, Research, Principal Analyst, Parks Associates
- Neerav Shah, VP, Bus Development, Verimatrix
- Stuart Sikes, President, Parks Associates
- Peter Smyth, CEO, RedMere
- Bill Stanley, Executive Dir., Operations Solutions, Telcordia
- Geof Todd, Dir., Sales & New Business Initiatives, NDS
- Frederic Van Durme, Head, Product Management, Thomson
- Ian Walsh, VP, Bus Development, ProVision Communications/AXAR Media
- Andrew Wajs, CTO, Irdeto Group, Irdeto/Cloakware

CONNECTIONS™ Global Sponsors are HD-PLC Alliance, DSC, NXP, Radialpoint, Rovi Corporation, ActiveVideo Networks, Affinegy, Icron, Irdeto, ProVision Communications, Telcordia, and Zilog. CONNECTIONS™ Europe Advisory Sponsors are Eyecon Technologies, Intamac Systems, and CONNECTIONS™ Premier Sponsor RedMere.

For information or to register, visit http://www.connectionseurope.com.

France Telecom Keynote at CONNECTIONS™ Europe Summit to focus on service opportunities in connected devices

Executive Summit features the Roadmap for Connected CE

Parks Associates announced that Pierre François Dubois, Vice President, Very High Broadband and Digital Home Products, Technocentre, France Telecom Group, will present the keynote at CONNECTIONS™ Europe Summit on November 4.

Mr. Dubois will discuss the key role of telcos in shaping the future of the Digital Home. He will focus on the new opportunities for Internet service providers developing as a result of the increasing number of connected devices at home.

CONNECTIONS™ Europe Summit, titled The Roadmap for Connected Consumer Electronics and hosted by international research firm Parks Associates, will take place in Amsterdam at the Mövenpick Hotel.

Europe is a strong market for connected CE, and service providers continue to be active in enabling advanced services and deploying devices such as hybrid set-tops. The worldwide telco /IPTV subscriber base exceeded 20 million in 2008, and France had over 27% growth in IPTV subscribers. France Telecom has been aggressive in connecting and managing consumer services, and Mr. Dubois’s insight will be invaluable to CONNECTIONS™ Europe attendees.

Summit Speakers
ActiveVideo Europe
Affinegy
Civolution
Eyecon Technologies
Intamac Technologies
Irdeto
Loquendo
Makewave
NDS
NXP Semiconductors
Omnifone
OpenTV
OSGi Alliance
Parks Associates
RedMere
Rovi Corporation
Telcordia
Thinking Screen Media
Thomson
TVBLOB
Verimatrix

Register for CONNECTIONS™ Europe at www.connectionseurope.com.