Motorola has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Bitband, a provider of content management and delivery systems, specialising in video-on-demand for IPTV.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in Q4 2009. Bitband will be integrated into Motorola’s Home & Networks Mobility business.

Based in Netanya, Israel, Bitband is understood to have over 60 commercial IPTV deployments worldwide, including TELE2 (Holland), Fastweb (Italy), and Swyazinvest (Russia).

Motorola believes the acquisition will complement its existing on demand product line that includes the Adaptive Media Management framework for content management and streaming servers for centralised and edge-based on demand networks.

Irdeto, a provider of content and business model protection solutions and services, has announced an expanded relationship with Al Jazeera Sport, part of the Al Jazeera Network and a provider of sports TV services in the Middle East and North Africa.

Irdeto will now protect Al Jazeera Sport’s premium content across its entire digital TV network and as part of the agreement, will source more than 500,000 Irdeto Smart Cards.

The expanded agreement between Al Jazeera Sport and Irdeto aligns with a drive in the Gulf to protect content and curb sales of illegal TV set-top boxes that decrypt pay-TV channels.

Irdeto informed its solution provides Al Jazeera Sport with a scalable Conditional Access System (CAS) featuring protection against the theft of content over their networks — including pay-per-view (PPV) and video-on-demand (VOD).

Harmonic has announced that Altibox (formerly Lyse Tele), a telecommunications service provider based in Norway, has deployed Harmonic’s StreamLiner video servers, Armada ‘intelligent asset management’, and ProStream 8000 digital mosaic solution.

The company informed the deployment will enable advanced IPTV video-on-demand (VOD) services and multi-channel mosaic viewing for Altibox subscribers across Norway and Denmark. Altibox is initially introducing this IPTV offering for Norwegian Elite Series football programming with plans to expand to additional sporting events in the future.

With this deployment, subscribers can watch a live football match and switch to on-demand viewing of important events in other matches using Altibox’s intuitive Electronic Program Guide (EPG).

In addition, the ProStream 8000 digital video mosaic solution generates the multi-channel mosaics that allow the subscriber to watch up to eight simultaneous football matches on a mosaic grid or in full-screen mode, and interactively link to the VOD content to follow highlights from all matches.

Ericsson and Tandberg Television, part of the Ericsson Group, are set to launch a host of advanced solutions that will offer consumers the latest in video-on-demand (VOD) technology, including the option to move their viewing experience across various screens.

The solutions will be demonstrated and launched at the 2009 International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Ericsson has revealed the new products and demonstrations at IBC will include:

a) Device-aware back-office system for multiplatform TV: The OpenStream Digital Services Platform allows consumers to experience their VOD services on PCs, TVs and mobile devices, shifting the services between each screen. The system can also support VOD deployments with both MPEG 4 AVC-capable set-top boxes and legacy MPEG 2 set-top boxes.

b) VOD for digital terrestrial and satellite TV platforms: Any multichannel TV operator can now offer consumers on-demand services via a progressive download to their set-top box or direct to the TV.

c) VOD without a set-top box: A new VOD solution, based on CI+ or Open IPTV Forum standards, enables service operators to deliver on-demand services such as network-based time-shift services and targeted advertisements directly to the TV without a set-top box.

d) One-way VOD opens the door for on-demand services to all cable set-top boxes: The system is designed for cable operators who either have a one-way hybrid fibre-coaxial cable (HFC) network or have deployed one-way set-top boxes.

NDS, a provider of technology solutions for digital pay-TV, has announced the availability of its conditional access (CA) add-on module, NDS VideoGuard Pre-Paid.

The company said the offering will enable operators in both emerging and mature markets to provide customers with ‘more payment options at minimal cost’. Brand-ID Europe, a provider of pre-paid payment services, supplies the back-office payment component with its CHKVIEW solution together with a full range of scratch card and e-voucher options.

Based on VideoGuard CA, NDS VideoGuard Pre-Paid reportedly allows pay-TV operators to reach new market segments with pay-as-you-go TV services.

Explaining further the company informed that with this offering, subscribers can purchase and store credit for future viewing options or for immediate activation. Once they decide to purchase content, the set amount will be debited from their stored credit. VideoGuard Pre-Paid then sends the entitlement rights from the operator’s head-end directly to the individual’s smart card inside their set-top box (STB) and allows the viewer access to the chosen content, the company added.

Alcatel-Lucent and Nordics operator Teliasonera have announced the deployment of the first 100Mbps VDSL2-based access network in Finland, enabling the delivery of a full-blown (high-definition) IPTV service offering across the country.

Teliasonera’s fibre-to-the-building (FTTB) architecture makes use of fibre cables that are trenched from the operator’s central offices to the basement of (apartment) buildings.

From there, the end-users are offered ‘very high-speed broadband applications’ over the existing, in-building copper wires. The architecture is based on Alcatel-Lucent’s 7354 ISAM FTTB Remote Unit – which has been designed for cabinet and multiple dwelling unit (MDU) deployments, the company informed.

Alcatel-Lucent also will provide a range of professional services related to the network roll-out project.

Ericsson has informed that it is enabling Sweden’s cable television operator, Com Hem, to deliver advanced entertainment services to its consumers via an interactive TV platform.

The on-demand TV platform supports a range of advanced services, such as video-on-demand, catch-up and start-over TV programmes and music on-demand, and also includes a flexible interactive portal for Com Hem’s new Landlord-Tenant service. The rollout of the new services has started.

As prime integrator, Ericsson is designing, integrating and delivering the TV platform, which includes hardware and software solutions from Tandberg Television, part of the Ericsson group. The platform includes the OpenStream Digital Services Platform, Xport Producer and EQ8096, as well as products from a number of third-party vendors.

Bharti Airtel, an integrated telecom services provider headquartered in India, has launched its m-commerce service – ‘Mchek on Airtel’ on the voice platform. This service enables use of voice (IVR) for m-commerce transactions for all Airtel mobile customers. The customer has to call 543219 to access the service which is toll free.

The new service will enable Airtel customers to pay Airtel mobile and fixed-line bills, recharge the company’s pre-paid and digitalTV accounts, recharge Delhi-Gurgaon expressway toll tags, pay insurance premiums, buy gifts, tickets and shop using their mobile phones.

To avail this service, Airtel customers has to go through a one-time registration that will link the user’s credit card automatically to the Mchek on Airtel service. For all future transactions the user is required to only enter a six-digit MchekPIN on their registered mobile number to authorise the transaction.

The service provides an on-demand solution for mobile payments with a two-step authentication process, the MchekPIN and the Mobile Number.

Modern Times Group (MTG), an international entertainment broadcasting group, has signed an agreement to acquire the live broadcasting rights to the National Hockey League (NHL) in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark.

MTG’s coverage of the NHL will start in October 2009 with the beginning of the 2009-2010 season. The NHL’s rights are syndicated by sports media company, ESPN, in the Nordic region and the rest of Europe.

NHL games will be broadcast on Sweden’s ice hockey channel, Viasat Hockey, a new Swedish TV channel, launching this September; on Viasat Sport in Norway; and on Viasat channels in Finland and Denmark.

The agreement with ESPN and the NHL includes five exclusive NHL matches every week during the regular season between October and April, news and highlights from all NHL matches, and co-exclusive rights with ESPN America to all of the Stanley Cup Playoff games between April and June.

In addition to Viasat Hockey, NHL games will also appear on other Viasat channels in Sweden. The agreement also provides live online streaming rights to all NHL matches for Viasat OnDemand in conjunction with ESPN360, ESPN’s broadband service.

Viasat has already secured a range of exclusive ice hockey broadcasting rights including the annual IIHF World Championship, the KHL, Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan league and the Norwegian Get league.

AT&T has extended Alcatel-Lucent’s contract for end-to-end multivendor network integration for AT&T U-verse.

The AT&T U-verse portfolio brings together U-verse TV, U-verse High Speed Internet and U-verse Voice services all delivered over AT&T’s advanced Internet Protocol (IP) network using Alcatel-Lucent’s Triple Play Service Delivery Architecture (TPSDA).

Under the latest agreement, Alcatel-Lucent will continue to provide end-to-end multivendor network integration for AT&T U-verse, including Microsoft Mediaroom Internet Protocol television (IPTV) software platform.

Alcatel-Lucent’s end-to-end multivendor network systems integration includes solution programme management, third-party management, network engineering, solution testing/validation and deployment services.