Kabel Deutschland, the largest cable operator in Germany, has lined up a partnership with Cisco Systems whereby the Vodafone-owned MSO will tap the vendor to develop a next-gen, cloud-based video service.
The multiscreen platform will be market-ready during KD’s 2016/2017 fiscal year, with more details to be unveiled at the IFA conference in September.
Though the debut of KD’s service is a ways off, it will aim to offer converged access to broadcast TV, on-demand content, as well as catch-up and other time-shifted TV that will be fed by a new video hub and other Cisco-made video devices that will be tied together by a unified interface.
KD and Cisco did not provide more technical detail, but a source said it’s likely that that the new platform will utilize the Reference Design Kit (RDK), the preintegrated software stack for hybrid and IP-based devices that’s being managed by Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Liberty Global. An emerging form of the RDK, commonly called RDK-B, will also work with cable broadband devices such as modems and voice/data gateways.
KD has already shown a strong interest in the RDK. Last February, the MSO announced that it had licensed the platform, noting that the time that the RDK is “one of the most positive and promising developments in terms of standardization across device platforms. The addition of other licensees, such as Active Video Networks, have helped to bring more cloud-facing components to the RDK.
