Nilesat opts for Cisco broadcast platform

Egyptian satellite operator Nilesat has installed video acquisition, encoding and digital content management technology from Cisco for its digital head end and throughout the Nilesat network. The new digital contribution system between Nilesat's head end and the site of state broadcaster, the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU), now carries 32 TV channels and 40 radio stations, to be broadcast across the Middle East via satellite. The Nilesat DVB centre also now processes over 150 private TV and radio channels using Cisco video solutions. "Nilesat chose Cisco's media, satellite, and broadcast video solution because satellite communications in Egypt are evolving rapidly and we know how important it is to invest in the latest state of the art solutions in enabling us to take our customer offering to the next level. The Cisco solution will enable us to do this cost effectively whilst also delivering the highest possible quality service," said Salah Hamza, chief technology officer and acting chairman, Nilesat. Olaf Krahmer, president and general manager, Cisco, Egypt added: "Based on Nilesat's business need Cisco introduced a platform that completely moved away from the traditional next generation direct to home platforms, and as a result we were able to successfully deploy a smart solution offering high performance and availability system whilst reducing the capital and operational expenditure for Nilesat overall. "Following this successful deployment, Cisco is now working very closely with Nilesat to introduce other new technologies that will help enhance their customer offering in the Middle East region and even further." The Cisco ROSA Video Service Management system is intended to reduce complexity, increase uptime and also help to decrease operating costs, while the end-to-end digital workflow service can rapidly deliver media through various stages from acquisition and production to encryption and distribution. The media distribution aspect will, says Cisco, also allow Nilesat to serve hundreds of operator head ends and affiliate locations, using varied video formats, levels of quality and compression standards. As of December 2010, Nilesat broadcast over 600 TV channels and more than 100 digital radio stations, uplinked from Cairo, Dubai, Amman, Doha, Riyadh and Beirut. Its satellites, broadcasting from the 7 degrees West orbital slot, cover North Africa and the Middle East.