Products / Services

Signs Agreement with WRB Enterprises’ Turks and Caicos Television Ltd. to Provide Grand Turk and Salt Cay Islands with all MPEG-4 Lineup

Reston, Virginia, April 2, 2009 - Avail Media, the only independent customer service-focused aggregator and provider of both linear and video-on-demand (VOD) MPEG-4 IP-based digital video content, today announced the company’s first cable customer. Through an agreement with Evolution Digital, a leading supplier of digital solutions for bandwidth reclamation and next generation advanced set-top boxes, WRB Enterprises’ Turks and Caicos Television Ltd. will be the first cable affiliate to deploy Avail Media’s all MPEG-4 channel lineup.

WRB Enterprises selected the Avail Media solution to replace its MPEG-2 system previously used by Turks and Caicos Television, which was destroyed by a tropical storm in 2008. The move to MPEG-4 will result in access to a more robust channel lineup in a format that utilizes existing bandwidth more efficiently. Avail Media and Evolution Digital are collaborating on the video deployment, which will bring a full MPEG-4 content lineup to the Caribbean islands of Grand Turk and Salt Cay.

“We wanted to make the most of our previous investment but still take advantage of advanced technologies that would enable us to offer improved service and quality,” said Nigel Wardle, Vice President of Operations at WRB Enterprises. “Avail Media gives us access to the channels our subscribers want in the format that we needed. By choosing an all-MPEG-4 channel lineup from Avail Media, we make the most of our existing infrastructure and can offer our customers the highest quality picture and most reliable service.”

The Avail Media solution includes a full lineup of live television programming with hundreds of channels, all quality-encoded in MPEG-4, IP-encapsulated, encrypted, combined with VOD, and designed for future value-added services. Avail Media possesses an extensive content library, including transport rights from the top national programmers, including ABC-Disney, Turner, NBC Universal, MTV Networks, and Fox Cable Networks.

“Avail Media provides cable operators with a robust HD lineup that viewers want, delivered in an MPEG-4 format that ensures the highest image quality and reduces bandwidth costs,” said Chris Egan, Principal, Evolution Digital. “With Avail Media, WRB Enterprises will not only be competitive upon deployment, but will be prepared to expand the services it offers as customer needs grow.”

WRB Enterprises, Inc., based in Tampa, Florida, owns and operates cable and telecommunications operations in the Turks and Caicos Islands and in the Commonwealth of Dominica. The company is also involved in electric utilities in Grenada, Grand Turk, and Dominica.

Evolution Digital, LLC is a division of Evolution Broadband and provides unique digital network solutions for the North American Cable TV industry. Evolution Digital has partnered with world class technology companies to deliver a complete digital turnkey solution offering a "One Stop Shop", including MPEG 4, HD and SD programming, fully integrated head end with conditional access and high performance set top boxes to enable cable operators to deploy advanced digital cable services. For more information on Evolution Digital, please visit http://www.evolutionbb.com.

Based in Reston, Virginia, Avail Media is the industry leader in providing managed content aggregation services through a fully-integrated, head-end infrastructure for the profitable deployment of IP video. Avail Media is the only company today to deliver to its affiliates a combined MPEG-4 linear IPTV, HD Overlay (MPEG-2/4) programming solution, and Video On Demand (VOD) solution. The Avail Media solution includes a full content lineup of live television programming with hundreds of channels, all quality-encoded in MPEG-4, IP-encapsulated, encrypted, combined with VOD, and designed for future value-added services. Avail Media's system has been designed for use by video providers of multiple types - whether triple-play, quad-play, or pure video play. For more information, please visit www.availmedia.com.