CES in Las Vegas is a hotspot for new tech announcements every year, and 2017 was no different.
Cisco has revealed an extended partnership with Ericsson that now includes WiFi, as well as the launch of its new cloud video platform, at the trade show which ran from Jan. 5-8.
Ericsson partnership now includes Wi-Fi
The company formed a partnership with Ericsson in November 2015 to offer more advanced routing, data centers, networking, cloud, mobility, management and control, and global services capabilities. Now, the two companies have extended their partnership to include a new WiFi solution offering called Evolved WiFi Networks (EWN).
“EWN combines Ericsson’s 3GPP access, core networks and applications with Cisco’s WiFi portfolio, to provide reliable WiFi with the highest performance to Ericsson’s mobile, cable and other industries customers,” Cisco explained in a Jan. 5 press release.
The solution combines Ericsson’s indoor access networks with Cisco’s WLAN to enable deployment in areas with both WiFi and cellular connectivity. It also allows operators and their subscribers who have access to Ericsson’s outdoor networks to also use Cisco WLAN.
Other benefits include a real time traffic steering feature, which allows operators to direct users between mobile and WiFi access networks for the best user experience, as well as core network integration, which lets operators offer their core networks services over WiFi for multimode devices.
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New video platform
Cisco also announced the launch and implementation of its Infinite Video Platform (IVP) Labs, a cloud video entertainment solution that helps deliver live, linear, on-demand, and over-the-top TV services to multiple screens. The platform allows users to scale IP video “to create personalized experiences, reduce the cost of delivery per subscriber, and offer fresh features on legacy devices,” the company says on its website.
According to Cisco, “IVP Labs will enable all Infinite Video customers worldwide to define the future of consumer video experience.”
One of the first adopters of the platform is Yes, an Israeli provider of multi-channel television via satellite. The company worked with the IVP production team to design a feature that delivers a personalized user interface to different audience segments and viewers, which was demonstrated at CES 2017 and is now fully integrated into Yes’s personalized recommendation engine.
Cisco will be releasing new features for IVP every two weeks, according to Rajeev Raman, senior director of product and strategy and service provider video software at Cisco.
“Our aim is simple: to create a community in which our customers – and their customers – can directly contribute to shape the IVP roadmap and help define the future of video,” he adds.
IVP Labs also allows participating customers to test new features with users before making them generally available, which allows for critical feedback to improve the features.
