mPhase Technologies announced that it has reached an agreement with Espial® to embed Espial Evo ^TM as part of its leading-edge Internet Protocol television (IPTV) service creation platform and applications. This platform will enable telephone companies to offer a suite of As You Like It ^TM broadcast TV, Video on Demand (VOD) and enhanced broadband consumer services. Espial is a leading provider of client applications, middleware and enabling technologies for the IPTV market.

mPhase Technologies markets the TV+ System, a software video switch platform that allows telephone companies to readily adapt their traditional broadband offering into packaged bundles of multimedia services based on customer demographics. Including the Espial Evo client middleware and applications in the offering ensures design flexibility so that customers have increased control over their television viewing experience, improving brand loyalty and reducing customer churn. Espial Evo's extensible architecture and highly customizable, entertainment grade set-top box (STB) applications ensure that telco operators compete aggressively with cable and satellite television offerings.

"The market-leading Espial Evo framework, in combination with the mPhase TV+ subscriber management system, enables service providers to deliver innovative applications on a reliable, secure infrastructure," said Phil Thompson, EVP-product management, mPhase Technologies. "By combining our expertise with Espial's, telephone companies will be able to offer applications and services known to generate revenue and reduce customer churn."

Espial Evo provides complete, integration-ready IPTV client middleware and applications such as EPG, VOD, TV controls, STB settings and Portal - all in an industry-leading footprint of 800KB or less. Espial Evo delivers an interactive entertainment-grade experience with an intuitive interface that is easy to use. The modular software platform facilitates customization and integration into any operator's back office environment.

With a unique architecture that separates the core application logic from the user interface design, Espial Evo allows content to be developed and customized in standard markup languages, like HTML. In addition, the Espial Evo Portal application enables telcos to provide localized content, including advertising, thanks to its revenue-generating HTML-based portal services. Espial Evo provides interfaces to the As You Like It platform for managing performance and customization features.

mPhase will be demonstrating its system capabilities with Espial Evo at TelecomVideo Europe 2005 in Amsterdam, Booth # 33 from May 10-12th, 2005.