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MTS Allstream Inc. ("MTS (News - Alert)"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Manitoba Telecom Services has reportedly selected 2Wire’s HomePortal intelligent gateways to expand its IPTV (News - Alert) services in Manitoba, Canada.

 

Officials at MTS- a company that offers customers a portfolio of solutions tailored to the needs of medium and large businesses such as IP connectivity, Unified Communications (News - Alert), IT consulting and security services -said that the new expansion is part of MTS's long-term broadband evolution strategy to bring television, Internet, phone, and home security and automation together on one simple platform.

 

"Our residential customers expect advanced broadband and TV services to be delivered reliably and seamlessly," said Kelvin Shepherd, president, consumer markets division, MTS Allstream (News - Alert). "2Wire and its proven, high-quality HomePortal intelligent gateways are a critical part of our plans to extend functional and geographical coverage for our broadband and TV services."

 

According to 2Wire, its HomePortal GEM (News - Alert) platform is the cost-effective alternative to expensive service-specific CPE and time-consuming application development. Unlike traditional CPE, the HomePortal GEM platform is designed for hardware and application modularity.

 

It features full TR-069 standard compliance delivering advanced voice, data, and video services to the home. It has high-performance ADSL or VDSL modem, a high-speed router, and Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n options), Ethernet, and USB 2.0 home networking technologies to accommodate a variety of service provider and subscriber environments.

 

Sean Parham, executive vice president and general manager, products and platforms, at 2Wire, said, "Already the leading telco TV service provider in Canada, MTS is committed to keeping ahead of the curve in providing next-generation broadband services. With our HomePortal gateway at the hub of the home network, MTS can provide its new IPTV subscribers with a robust and reliable bundle of voice, data and entertainment services."

 

MTS Allstream has been serving Canadians with innovative products and services through the Enterprise Solutions and Consumer Markets divisions. Its extensive national broadband fibre optic network spans more than 24,300 kilometres, and provides international connections through strategic alliances and interconnection agreements with other international service providers.

 

This new expansion effort from the company has already begun with a rollout in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. Other cities like Winnipeg and Brandon are planned for 2009.