Kasenna, The IPTV Company, a leading provider of video-on-demand (VOD) content and MPEG-4 ready IPTV applications for Triple Play services over broadband networks, and Australian systems integrator CombiTel today announced that Kasenna PortalTV has been chosen to deliver first of its kind IPTV services for Regional Internet Australia (RIA). The CombiTel solution for Australia's first MPEG-4 IPTV roll-out integrates Kasenna's PortalTV solution into the IPTV delivery platform that has been developed for the project. The initial roll-out, starting in September 2006, will provide Broadcast IPTV and advanced VOD services in addition to high-speed Internet to about 20,000 subscribers in two regional cities, Townsville and Cairns in Northern Queensland, with further expansion planned into other towns.

For the first time, Australian RIA consumers will be able to enjoy advanced IPTV services such as Broadcast TV, Video-On-Demand, Games, Music and other value-added services, in addition to high-speed Internet, all from the same delivery platform.

Warren Thompson, CEO of RIA, said: "The roll-out of these IPTV services is hugely significant for us; not only is it the first such project in Australia, but it also demonstrates our market leadership position in offering the most advanced Broadcast TV and VOD services to our subscribers. Kasenna, through CombiTel, has been an essential element to our success. The expert local representation and support provided by CombiTel have been invaluable, which when coupled with the proven integration capability, scalability, efficiency, and open architecture of the Kasenna PortalTV platform made the solution very compelling."

Kumar Shah, Chief Executive Officer of Kasenna, states: "We are delighted to have been chosen by CombiTel to provide the IPTV delivery platform for this exciting project for RIA. This endorsement by RIA is another testament to Kasenna's market leadership and proven benefits of the Kasenna IPTV solution for service providers for delivery of next-generation MPEG-4 IPTV services."

PortalTV, Kasenna's blueprint for integrated delivery of Television and Internet video content, is built on a standards-based web services platform, enabling service providers to rapidly deploy IPTV services for immediate revenue generation while positioning them for Internet video content delivery. Consisting of Kasenna's LivingRoom 2.0 IPTV middleware, MediaBase XMP video delivery platform, and vFusion video network management system, PortalTV is the fastest and most cost-effective route to profitable IPTV services available in today's market.