Liberty Communications, a small telco operating in West Liberty and West Branch, Iowa, has launched an Internet-protocol-TV service that utilizes a whole-house interconnection solution from Coaxsys Inc.
Using the Coaxsys TVNet adapter, consumers can receive IPTV service through the home, using the residence’s existing coaxial cable wiring.
Liberty counts 4,000 consumer access lines, and launched video service over asynchronous digital subscriber line earlier this month. Liberty offers 112 channels, including 45 music channels for $49.95 a month.
Iowa Network Services provides the program package. Liberty is using the Calix broadband platform, middleware from Myrio Corp. and set-tops from i3 micro technology, said Liberty president Jerry Melick.
Coaxsys is supplying Liberty its TVnet adapter. “We’re delivering Ethernet over coax in the home,” said Coaxsys president and CEO Michael D’Addio. The company has separate in-home adapters for the telco, cable and satellite markets. Liberty is its first announced telco deployment, D’Addio said, noting that the company will showcase its cable product at CableNet during the National Show in San Francisco.
The adapter is capable of delivering between 70 and 104 Mb of service up to 250 feet in the home. The TVnet adapter is a four-inch by six-inch box that sits next to the ADSL modem or the fiber-to-the-home gateway, D’Addio said.
It sports three connectors — one for the power, one for a Cat 5 connection to the modem/gateway and one for the coaxial connection to the wall jack.
Melick said Coaxsys presented an elegant solution for the homes in Liberty’s area, many of which are older, brick structures that sometimes make Cat 5 wiring a difficult option. “This was key in helping us to be able to do a timely install,” Melick said.
In addition to the 112 channels, Liberty offers premium networks and pay-per-view. Second TV sets in the home require a separate set-top box, he said.
Coaxsys prices the adapters between $55 and $65, depending on volume, D’Addio said. Liberty is absorbing the cost, Melick said, although second TV set hookups require an additional $5 a month fee.
But as long as installs remain timely, Melick said, the adapters cost isn’t a burden.
