Cisco Systems announced that Digiweb Ltd, one of Ireland's largest privately-owned Internet Service Providers (ISP), will offer 80 percent of the population converged data, voice and video ("triple-play") services using a country-wide network built on Cisco Systems Internet Protocol Next Generation Network (IP NGN) technology.

Alcatel announced that KPN, the incumbent operator in The Netherlands, has selected Alcatel to upgrade its broadband aggregation networking in order to deliver triple play services across the country. KPN will use a next generation Ethernet aggregation network from Alcatel to offer advanced services such as video on demand (VoD), IPTV to residential subscribers and layer two Ethernet services to its business customers.

Lucent Technologies and Juniper Networks, Inc. announced a contract with Dutch telecom operator KPN to deploy the next part of KPN´s Internet Protocol (IP)/Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) core network. When fully implemented, this core multi-service network will enable KPN to support a variety of business and consumer services such as Ethernet VPN (Virtual Private Network) as well as advanced IP services such as IPTV and video streaming.

Optibase Ltd. announced that Ireland's first IPTV service provider, Magnet Networks, has chosen to further extend its IP video head-end with Optibase's IPTV encoding and streaming platforms.

This latest order, placed for Magnet Networks, by leading broadband solutions provider and systems integrator Industria, the main contractor on the project, is the third arising from the rollout.

OpenTV Corp. announced that Cabovisao, Televisao por Cabo SA, a leading privately-owned cable operator in Portugal, has selected OpenTV as a key technology provider for the deployment of interactive television services on their digital cable and broadband IP television networks. Cabovisao expects to deploy OpenTV Core 2.0 on its digital cable network and on its broadband IP network in 2006. Cabovisao currently offers cable-TV, broadband Internet access and fixed telephony services to over 240,000 residential customers and 12,000 enterprises in Portugal.

BitBand announced that it was selected by B2 (Bredbandsbolaget) for deploying VOD services in Sweden. B2 has recently launched triple play services delivered over its high capacity network to homes in Sweden, offering telephony services, broadband Internet access, TV and VOD.

B2, Sweden's second largest broadband supplier, has a growing network that currently reaches 70 locations all over the country. BitBand's solutions employed with B2 are BitBand Maestro(TM) content distribution and server management suite and BitBand Vision(TM) servers. Coupled with B2's high capacity network (up to 100 Mbits/s), BitBand preserves the high quality of content viewed by subscribers, resulting in greater subscriber satisfaction and increased revenues.

TANDBERG Television announced that it has signed a contract with Siemens to provide Dutch telco KPN with a flexible EN5930 encoding system which can simultaneously transmit both MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 AVC standard definition television. KPN is adding IPTV to its existing communication services and plans to introduce digital television over its DSL network for the first time this year. Internet Protocol means it is possible that television, telephone and internet will eventually be provided over a single DSL connection.

IPTV technology leaders BitBand and Orca Interactive and Danish system integrator DigiEyeZ A/S announced that Dansk Bredband, a Danish broadband services provider, has selected the three companies to launch IPTV services in Denmark. The services, planned for Copenhagen with later expansion across Denmark and other parts of Scandinavia, will initially include live TV channels and Video On Demand (VOD), allowing subscribers to enjoy high quality entertainment packages in the comfort of their own homes.

Alcatel has been selected by the Principality of Asturias, Spain, to deploy a Fiber to the User - FTTU - network in the mining valley of Asturias. The network will provide thousands of residents of regions near the Caudal, Nalón and Narcea river basins, access to high speed Internet and bandwidth-intensive applications.

Alcatel is the turnkey provider of this 19 million euro project, with full responsibility for the network design and planning, as well as for its deployment, service roll out and maintenance, for the Asturias' local authority.

B2 will deploy VDSL2 technology to deliver Triple Play services - Internet, IP Telephony and IPTV - over a High-Performance Broadband architecture based on IP/Ethernet technology. The VDSL2 system is planned to be in operation in October this year.

Kreatel Communications announced the continued collaboration with Norwegian broadband provider Lyse Tele AS. Under the terms of the agreement, Kreatel remains the provider of IP set-top boxes for Lyse's solution and will deliver an additional 45,000 units over the coming two years.

Telefónica, one of the largest telecoms in the world, has chosen Corinex's 200Mbps AV Powerline Ethernet adapters (Adaptador PLC-Ethernet) for use in its "Imagenio" IP TV home entertainment and communications package. Corinex's equipment will be used to connect an ADSL modem, sending IP TV signals to a TV set top box via the existing electrical wiring.

NDS Group plc highlights:

-- Auna to use Synamedia ^TM solution - incorporating NDS VideoGuard® content protection

-- NDS strengthens relationship with Auna to provide leading content protection for its IP television offering and Video-on-Demand service.

-- Auna VOD Service to be secured using NDS VideoGuard encryption for both Broadband ADSL and Cable TV deployments

NDS Group plc, a leading provider of technology solutions for digital pay TV, announced that Auna, Spain's leading broadband and cable TV operator, has selected Synamedia, the NDS secure broadband TV & VOD architecture.

mPhase Technologies today announced that Beyaz Holding Company, owner of Turkey's leading television news and entertainment station, has aired a segment on its "The Economy Today" series, describing the benefits of a planned digital television service over the privatized national telephone network.

Beyaz Holding and mPhase have formed a joint venture, mPhase Teknoloji, which is awaiting a license to deliver the Internet television (IPTV) service targeted for delivery via Turk Telecom, the soon-to-be privatized national telecommunications company.

Powered from end-to-end by the Siemens SURPASS Home Entertainment solution, Belgacom is now delivering commercially available Internet protocol television (IPTV) to its customers as part of its asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) offering, announced the Siemens Communications Group.