Nortel is touting a new IPTV system carriers can overlay on existing networks.

Nortel says the system is being trialed by a number of tier-one operators – of course, unidentified – and also deployed by Grafton Technologies, a triple-play provider in Jersey County, Ill.

The foundation of the solution is the company’s Video Services Platform (VSP) 9500, based on open interfaces, which enable applications to be easily developed and deployed.

Nortel’s first application working on the VSP 9500 is the Communications Module 9520, which allows carriers to merge wireline and wireless phones with desktop functionality such as instant messaging, caller ID notification, click-to-call, voicemail and address books all through the interface of an end-user's television.

The distinction of the new system, Nortel said, is that the open interfaces allow anyone to create applications for the platform. Nortel expects other applications, such as interactive advertising, on-line yellow pages with click-to-call functionality, or social networking tie-ins, will be created by third-party developers or by service providers themselves.

The VSP delivers application data across myriad user devices, including cell phones, televisions and computers by automatically adapting the content to the end-user device.

Mike Arnold, general manager, Grafton Technologies, said: “With the Nortel IPTV solution, we will be able to use simple, affordable upgrades to our existing network infrastructure, to launch a range of new services.”

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