Net Insight has rolled out the Nimbra 360 multiservice access/edge switch. The solution integrates transport of Digital Terrestrial and Mobile Television services with transfer of highly accurate timing information, eliminating the need for GPS receivers.

With four built-in multirate SONET/SDH SFP ports and one Gigabit Ethernet port, the product is ready for demanding applications already in its basic configuration. In addition, up to 16 DVB-ASI ports or other combinations of multiservice access and trunk interfaces are available using the two slots for plug-in modules.

TV operators deploying Digital Terrestrial TV based on Nimbra 360 not only get a DTT network but also a multi-service transport infrastructure that opens up new business opportunities. The multicast feature makes it easy to distribute both digital TV and radio. Adding a higher-speed backbone and plug-in modules for uncompressed video and audio services turns the network into a very powerful media contribution platform. The built-in GbE interface and Ethernet multicast features make the solution very suitable for IPTV distribution or WiFi/Wimax aggregation. The same platform can also be used for mobile TV whether distributed over IP or ASI MPEG.

DTT and Mobile TV often require a single frequency network (SFN) where the transmitter stations must be synchronized to send their signals at exactly the same time. Nimbra 360 has a unique time transfer capability that allows highly accurate distribution of real time over the same network that carries the video signals. This eliminates the need for costly and potentially vulnerable GPS receivers in the network.

DTT networks are being built, and are going to be built, in many countries during the coming years. In Norway, Norkring AS delivers infrastructure and network services to premier broadcasters. The company, owned by Telenor ASA, has nation-wide transmission networks for television and radio where Nimbra 360 nodes are being deployed.

"The Nimbra 360 was specially designed for Digital Terrestrial and Mobile TV networks and has several unique features for these applications," said Fredrik Trägårdh, CEO of Net Insight. "In addition, Nimbra 360 offers a flexible and cost-effective solution for delivering advanced multimedia services in broadcast and media networks and for IPTV/CATV distribution."