A small regional telecommunications company has reached out and beaten AT&T Inc. to bragging rights for commercially delivering television using Internet Protocol technology.
Cavalier Telephone & TV is using use MPEG-4 technology to deliver video over broadband, which it launched May 22 in Richmond, Va. AT&T has begun providing its version of IPTV in San Antonio as a marketing test to an unspecified number of customers, for free.
Cavalier uses its existing digital subscriber line network, which is capable of speeds of up to 15 Mbps. Currently, that network passes 250,000 homes. The company currently has 50,000 phone customers in Richmond. The service includes 150 channels, a full-featured electronic program guide that enables parental viewing controls and on-screen caller ID linked to the provider’s voice-over-Internet protocol telephone product. Pay-per-view and on-demand programming will also be part of the package.
The bundle offered by the company, including local and long-distance voice, Internet and video services, is priced at $95 per month. Consumers can also buy a two-product bundle, priced at about $70. The company will not sell video on a standalone basis.
“We intend to go head-to-head with existing cable and satellite firms showcasing our superior picture quality and network reliability,” Cavalier CEO Brad Evans said in a statement.
