Telekom Romania partners with Viaccess-Orca, Zenterio for IPTV

Telekom Romania has partnered with content delivery and protection specialists Viaccess-Orca and TV operating system provider Zenterio and for the rollout of its new IPTV and OTT multiscreen service, Telekom TV. 

The deal marks the third recent Zenterio OS deployment within the Deutsche Telekom Group, which owns a 50% stake in Telekom Romania, formerly Romtelecom, having previously worked with Slovak Telekom and Magyar Telekom.

Telekom Romania is using Viaccess-Orca’s Voyage-TV Everywhere solution to drive the new IPTV and OTT multiscreen service, with Viaccess-Orca acting as a system integrator on the project.

The firm’s Voyage solution includes Viaccess-Orca’s RiGHTv unified service delivery platform and Compass content discovery platform, with Telekom Romania able to deliver a range of content, including live television, video-on-demand and catch-up TV, to subscribers on any screen.

Other technology partners for Telekom Romania’s IPTV project include Verimatrix as conditional access system provider and Kaon as set-top box manufacturer. Also involved is  Gemini, Friendly Technologies, Broadpeak, Harmonic and Accedo.

“The launch of an innovative, multi-screen service is just the beginning of Telekom Romania’s major effort to expand its IPTV service offerings to our customers,” said Mathias Hanel, chief commercial officer at Telekom Romania.

Nikolai Beckers, CEO of Telekom Romania said: “To provide a superior multiscreen service to potentially millions of subscribers across Romania, we needed a TV Everywhere solution that offers unparalleled levels of interactivity and personalisation. Unifying the service delivery across different networks by using a single converged system was also important.”

Prior to deploying Viaccess-Orca’s Voyage, Telekom Romania was using multiple infrastructures for its TV offerings, including IPTV, OTT, DTH, and cable.

The new unified platform is designed to support more device types, reduce costs, increase operational efficiencies, and quickly expand its service offering, according to Viaccess-Orca.

Telekom TV will be available beyond the Telekom Romania customer base via monthly subscriptions.

The news comes just a day after Romtelecom and Cosmote Romania began operating under the Telekom Romania brand, with both companies taking the “T” logo trademark.

“Adding Romania to the Magenta map, is a natural step in the evolution of Deutsche Telekom’s footprint in Europe. It is in line with our strategy to offer the best customer experience driven by technology leadership. As a leading telecommunications provider in Europe, we bring our expertise and ability to the Romanian market. We are highly committed to Telekom Romania and will make a significant contribution to the Romanian society,” said Claudia Nemat, board member Europe and technology, Deutsche Telekom.