11 NEWSFEED Updates & upgrades
DUTCH OTT APPS COLLAPSE
Dutch telecommunications company KPN has shut down its OTT app KPN Play. After launching in 2015, the service announced a 1 July termination date, citing insufficient demand in the market. The KPN website will remain accessible until October 1. The no contract KPN Play service provided both live streaming and on- demand video to the Dutch market. In a statement on the KPN Play website the company said: “We have learned a great deal from KPN Play and are using this for other products, including the KPN Interactive TV app that is part of KPN’s Internet and TV packages.” KPN Play follows two other ailing online services in The Netherlands. Dutch OTT TV company Mobile2Morrow (M2M) shut down in May, and in March, T-Mobile announced the end of its Dutch OTT video offering, Knippr. The Mobile2Morrow service started at €5.99 per month and offered over 150 international channels, including 4K content. Knippr, powered by Ericsson and developed by Stoneroos, had only just won an award for best Apple TV app from iOS news and info site iCulture. Knippr launched in May 2016. In another change in the Dutch TV landscape, the European Commission has finally cleared the way for US mega-telco Liberty Global to acquire Dutch cable operator Ziggo. Ziggo is the largest cable operator in the Netherlands. The purchase had been approved in 2014, but was halted by a complaint lodged by KPN.
APPLE RELEASES IOS 12 Apple has announced an upgrade to its iOS operating system. One of the improvements for the new iOS 12 is an increase in speed for certain functions. Apple promises two times faster app launch under heavy workload and a 70% wellness controls. A new feature called Screen Time allows users to better track their use of apps, websites and devices. Users will also have greater control over their notifications, with Siri adding notification suggestions based on how users interact with their apps. iOS 12 also includes more privacy
faster swipe to camera. Facetime will support video and audio with up to 30 people at once and will feature tools for creating highly customisable animojis. The new operating system will feature enhanced AR tools. Apple’s ARKit 2 for developers will allow creators to better create and integrate AR experiences for multiple users. AR objects can be sent with Messages and Apple’s Mail. Following in the footsteps of Google’s recent announcement, iOS adds improved
functions. Safari will now prevent Share buttons and comment widgets on web pages from tracking users without their permission. The new privacy features will also prevent advertisers from collecting a device’s unique characteristics which might be used to identify the device or retarget ads across browsing. A public beta will be available this month. The public launch will happen this fall.
UPC HUNGARY SEEKS ASSURANCE network, UPC hopes to achieve real-
Hungarian cable operator UPC Magyarország has adopted a new video assurance platform from Agama Technologies. Operated by Liberty Global Europe, UPC Magyarország (UPC Hungary) is the largest cable television operator in the country and provides digital and analogue cable video, broadband internet and traditional circuit- switched and digital telephony (VoIP) services to 2 million service subscribers. Headquartered in Linköping, Sweden, Agama provides solutions for monitoring, assurance and analytics of video service quality and customer experience. By implementing Agama’s video assurance platform in its head-end and
time operational transparency on service performance. The new system will help the UPC operations teams manage, deploy and innovate in an agile manner. Installation of the system was facilitated by Budapest- based systems integrator and Agama partner Silicon Computers. “By choosing Agama’s modern, software- based solution, we are able to get great support for both automated monitoring as well as visual inspection. We now have a real-time view of the delivery chain with key metrics directly available for our services, from the head-end and through the network,” said Tibor Szabadszallasi, video manager at UPC Hungary.
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