NAB: Net Insight adds Ethernet switching, IP trunk module to optical transport

LAS VEGAS – Net Insight this week is using the NAB show to announce the addition of Ethernet Switching to its Nimbra 600 series optical transport, enhancing Ethernet services for both IPTV networks and business services. Net Insight also unveiled an IP trunk module for its Nimbra platform.

Known in the US primarily for broadcast backhaul, Net Insight's optical transport technology is widely used in Europe for digital terrestrial broadcast networks, and Net Insight is bringing that approach to the US market. As part of the Ethernet announcement, Net Insight said Wisconsin Independent Network, a statewide fiber optic wholesale network owned by 31 independent telcos, is expanding its use of Net Insight's Nimbra optical transport across multiple points of presence to enable redundant virtual headends.

"Virtual headends take content and distribute it outside the domain of the original IPTV footprint," said Dan Lutter, director of North American sales for Net Insight. "Virtual headends can take content across a state or across state lines, even out of the country."

The idea behind virtual headends is to enable independent telcos to share a headend for video content distribution, making IPTV most cost-effective to deploy, Lutter said. "Instead of investing up to $2 million in a headend, companies can pay much less and deploy IPTV."

Lutter sees IPTV again picking up steam among independent telcos, as some of the integration issues surrounding middleware and set-top boxes are resolved and as newer DSLAMs solve last-mile bandwidth issues.

Net Insight also enables service providers, such as independent telcos, to deliver Ethernet services to businesses over the same infrastructure, Lutter said.

The new IP trunk module enables Net Insight to offer IP as a last-mile option for service providers that want to offer an IP service for businesses, Lutter said.