HP and Intel Launch IPTV Test Centers for Telecom Service Providers

HP has worked with Intel to open two Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) test centers to help carriers and broadband providers take advantage of the opportunities of the emerging technology.

The IPTV Centers of Excellence will help customers accelerate deployment of new revenue-producing IPTV services, as well as reduce the costs and risks associated with them. The centers also address the service providers' need for a "one-stop" facility where they can test and validate IPTV solutions and resolve problems before the solution is deployed for subscribers.

At the two facilities, located in Grenoble, France, and Richardson, Texas, HP and Intel have created state-of-the-art working environments where carriers and broadband providers can develop and model the infrastructure they need to deliver a successful IPTV service. The facilities allow for performance and scalability evaluation, characterization, sizing, full proof-of-concept testing, and integration of IPTV solutions into the network and the operational and business support systems.

At the centers, service providers will use HP ProLiant servers and server blades with the recently announced Dual-Core Intel Xeon processor series, as well as HP Integrity servers with Intel Itanium 2 processors. They will have access to HP professional services, HP service management solutions for IPTV, and HP content management and distribution expertise. The centers also will include Intel technologies such as virtualization, active management and input/output acceleration.

The new centers broaden the already extensive cooperation between HP and Intel in the converging telecom, broadband and media markets. In 2002, the two companies established their first competence center dedicated to these industries.