For today’s service providers, “triple play” is not just a buzzword - rather, it is the only way to stay competitive and retain their customer base. Combined solution provided by PortaOne in conjunction with an IPTV platform can be used to add IPTV to your service portfolio and expand your business growth.
An IPTV platform normally includes a content delivery network, a services framework, application servers and client portals. Together they enable the acquisition, storage, distribution, caching and delivery of content to a variety of devices; the management of content workflow; rights management and royalty reporting to rights owners; and the delivery of IPTV content to various applications (such as set-top boxes).
PortaBilling is a converged real-time billing system, service provisioning environment and CRM used for rating and invoicing any type of service you provide to customers, with centralized funds management and consolidated bills.
The administrator can define multiple channel packages for IPTV in the IPTV platform. These are then imported into PortaBilling via XML API and a channel package can be assigned to the customer product together with a subscription plan for it (just like for any other service, such as internet telephony, messaging, or data transfer). This allows you to do better marketing, work with multiple customer groups, and enjoy greater flexibility in terms of pricing the service.
When a new or existing customer signs up for the IPTV service, the available channel information (based on the assigned channel package) is provisioned into the IPTV platform via an extensible XML API. Also, if a customer’s product configuration changes, or a customer is blocked or suspended (e.g., due to non-payment), this information is transferred to the IPTV platform.
Support for the pay-per-view service will be introduced in a future release, at which time when a customer requests pay-per-view content, it will be validated in real time – if he has enough funds available – and the cost is debited from his account once he confirms the purchase.
As a result, the IPTV service is fully managed via the PortaBilling web interface, and all applicable charges are added to the customer’s invoice, along with other charges (periodic and event-based), for services such as internet access, voice calls, and so on. This enhances the customer’s experience, improves accounts receivable tracking, simplifies maintenance, and reduces operating costs.
The following IPTV platforms are currently supported:
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Matrix,
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Minerva,
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Telebreeze,
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SeaChange.
The combination of an IPTV platform and PortaBilling creates a world-class video ingest, storage, distribution and delivery platform with a robust, high-quality video functionality. Easy provisioning and full control on the billing side allow you to reduce operating costs and quickly achieve profits from IPTV services.
