NORWICH, Ont. – Nor-del Cablevision Ltd., a family-operated cableco serving small communities in southwestern Ontario, has purchased an all-digital DVB standard solution.
Nor-del says its customers will be the first outside major Canadian centres to receive state-of-the-art digital cable.
“Our all-digital cable platform will provide our customers with a spectacular variety of interactive television services,” said Nor-Del founder Glenn Baxter. “We will have the capability to offer an unprecedented number of high definition television channels, as well as pay per view, PVR functionality, VOD, and many other services never before available outside Canada’s largest cities. By dedicating our total network bandwidth for digital, the growth potential for adding products and services are almost limitless.”
Nor-del will be using the platform from Toronto-based Think Broadband Solutions, a division of Tri-Vision International, using the expertise of Conax AS of Norway. It’s a full-function digital cable system using the DVB Cable Open Standard, already operating in 35 countries. Conax says the technology will allow small and medium-sized cable operators the ability to offer a variety of digital options in a cost-effective way.
Think Broadband will offer Nor-del an integrated head end solution as well as set top boxes, ranging from the standard cable box to high-end HDTV and PVR capability.
“We are delighted to be the first in Canada to provide small communities with the same cable experience their city cousins enjoy, and at a lower cost by virtue of deploying the Open Standard DVB platform,” said Baxter.
“Until Think Broadband approached us with this fully integrated DVB solution, it was simply not economically feasible to provide cable customers outside major cities with high definition television, pay per view, video on demand, interactive channel guides, and the other features only associated with big city cable,” Baxter added. “We can now provide the same service cable customers receive in Montreal, Toronto or Vancouver. This is the future for small cable operations.”
The system is expected to be up and running in Nor-del communities later this year.
Nor-del, founded by Baxter in 1979, serves customers with cable and high-speed Internet services in Norwich, Otterville, Delhi, Port Dover, and Waterford.
