BSD.L Regulatory News (BSD)

18 Jul 2007 07:00

Orca Interactive Ltd18 July 2007 18 July 2007 Orca Interactive Limited ("Orca" or "the Company") Orca Interactive enters U.S. IPTV market with W.T. Services agreement Orca to provide cutting-edge RiGHTv middleware for live TV, pay-per-view and video on demand for U.S. triple play provider Ra'anana, Israel, July 18, 2007 - Orca Interactive (LSE: ORCA), a global marketleader in the provision of IPTV middleware and applications is pleased toannounce its first U.S. customer agreement with W.T. Services, Inc., a whollyowned subsidiary of West Texas Rural Telephone Cooperative. The agreement will see Orca Interactive supply its advanced RiGHTv middlewarethrough Optibase, the prime integrator in this project. The solution willenable W.T.Services to provide integrated, carrier-grade IPTV services includinglive television broadcast, pay-per-view and video on demand (VOD). W.T.Services is expected to launch the first of these new services in July 2007. W.T. Services' advanced IPTV offering, powered by Orca's RiGHTv middleware, willalso include Caller ID over television, enabling triple play subscribers toconveniently identify incoming calls on their TV screens, and Emergency AlertSystem (EAS) notification for advance warnings and immediate, direct alertsabout critical events in the region. With enhanced flexibility, Orca Interactive's User Interface (UI) SDK andService Delivery Platform (SDP) architecture will enable W.T. Services tobenefit from UI customization, smooth UI porting into new set-top boxes andapplication hosting in a fast time-to-market and at a low operational cost. Welcoming the announcement, Thomas A Hyer, President of W.T. Services said:."Inbuilding a comprehensive network of fiber-to-the-home in our communities, westrive to offer the residents of rural Texas all of the services that can befound in metropolitan areas. We can achieve this with Orca's RiGHTv IPTVMiddleware, which provides us with a flexible and reliable IPTV Platform foroffering services such as national television channels and local feeds, as wellas an advanced suite of personalized services including VOD and Pay Per View." Haggai Barel, CEO of Orca Interactive commented: "This announcement marks asignificant milestone for Orca Interactive , signaling our first customer win inthe key US market. Securing a customer of the calibre of W.T. Services reflectson our commitment to delivering readily deployable solutions to the NorthAmerican market. We expect other leading industry players to follow suit as wecontinue to drive new revenue opportunities across the US with our cutting-edge,highly reliable IPTV technology." Marking its entrance into the US market, Orca Interactive is also pleased toannounce the opening of a U.S. office. During the third quarter of 2007, Orcawill open an office on the West Coast of the US allowing US customers to benefitfrom Orca's array of partnerships across the IPTV value chain with companiessuch as Amino, BitBand, MetaSwitch, Trilithic, Quintrex, Tribune Media Services,Verimatrix and Widevine. For further information please contact: Orca Interactive plc +972 9 7699444Haggai Barel, Chief Executive Officer Financial Dynamics +44 20 7831 3113James Melville-Ross / Matt Dixon Altium +44 20 7484 4040Tim Richardson About W.T. Services W.T. Services, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of West Texas Rural TelephoneCooperative, is a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) in the existingcommunities of Friona and Bovina. The company is one of the most advanced tripleplay service providers in the US, offering businesses and residents the optionof using a local company for telephone, high speed internet and cable televisionservice. The addition of IPTV will enhance the service portfolio and provide thedriving applications for the advanced fiber infrastructure being installed inthe Hereford Texas About Orca Interactive Orca Interactive (LSE-ORCA) is a leading provider of IPTV middleware andapplications for broadband network operators and service providers. Orca enablestriple-play providers to deliver a full array of attractive video-over-IPservices that generate new revenue streams and strengthen customer loyalty.Leveraging a flexible telco-grade middleware platform, Orca empowers operatorsto deliver broadcast TV, video on demand (VOD), personal video recording (PVR),home media and other compelling interactive services. Orca's SI-enabledsolutions are designed for easy outsourcing of integration services by anoperator's preferred systems integrator. Orca has formed strategic partnershipswith leading players across the IPTV value chain to ensure best-of-breedsolutions with low total cost of ownership. For further information please visitwww.orcainteractive.com. - Ends - This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange