FastWeb beefs up server farm with BitBand

FastWeb customers apparently can’t get enough of their video on demand. The Italian triple-play provider said this week that it will add an additional 20 BitBand Vision 480 servers to its network in seven cities.

FastWeb, which claims to be the world’s largest triple-play carrier, is expanding its ADSL service to bring total capacity to 25,000 concurrent video streams serving more than 180,000 subscribers. The contract is a continuation of a previous deal that BitBand had with FastWeb to be the only video server provider, according to Ervin Leibovici, CEO of BitBand. It also reflects the increasing importance of FastWeb’s VOD element in the triple-play bundle.

"They had initially started only with voice and then added the IP TV," Leibovici said. "Not only now have they arrived to a very sizable subscriber base on IP TV, what’s more encouraging is the subscription rate. For every 100 new subscribers they get about 70 start with IP TV."

The BitBand Vision 480 servers are actually the second version of servers that will be used by FastWeb. Initially, the company launched VOD services only over its fiber-to-the-home network in Milan using BitBand’s Vision 190 services. The newer 480s add significantly more power and storage capability. For FastWeb, which now offers voice, data and video over ADSL, the new servers will allow it to centralize much of its video library and only store the most requested content on local servers.

"We have integrated a hybrid architecture where we have large clusters in the central part of the network," Leibovici said.