Top 30 MSO NPG Cable Uses MetaSwitch Solution for Advanced Business Phone Services

Phased Rollout of Digital Phone Service in Three States Includes Web-Based Customer Control, Virtual PBX and Unified Messaging

 

Alameda, CA: October 18, 2007. NPG Cable Inc., a triple-play communications provider serving 100,000 subscribers, has recently started an ambitious deployment of digital phone services for business customers based on technology from MetaSwitch, a leading vendor of carrier-class softswitch and applications solutions. The staged rollout will eventually cover three states and grow to include new features that leverage the power of MetaSphere, the MetaSwitch service delivery platform and applications suite.

Like many other cable operators deploying MetaSwitch solutions to build new revenue streams in a highly competitive marketplace, NPG Cable recognized the flexibility and value of partnering with the innovative supplier.

"Out of all the suppliers I've worked with in the past, MetaSwitch has absolutely been the most attentive to our needs," said Liam Catherall, information systems director at NPG Cable. "We gave them an extremely tight deadline and their response was remarkable."

Catherall said that the MetaSwitch solution was particularly well suited to NPG Cable's phased deployment of business digital phone service. Gradually phasing in the new service in Missouri, California and Arizona where it operates cable systems, NPG Cable first deployed business digital phone services in August 2007 using a Network-based Call Signaling (NCS) offering targeted at enterprises with less than six lines.

"We wanted the flexibility of starting with NCS so we didn't have to do a lot of training of our installers, allowing us to more quickly get into the marketplace, and then later grow to a more feature-rich offering," Catherall said. "Our initial deployment went really well and we're looking at the rest of it going equally well."

"MetaSwitch is building a rock solid reputation among cable operators as word spreads of numerous MetaSwitch deployments of IP-based voice systems by top-tier cable operators," said Andrew Randall, vice president of marketing. "The cable industry is no longer just television delivery; it has evolved to provide a wide variety of sophisticated voice services. Our customers such as NPG Cable have recognized the opportunity, partnered with MetaSwitch and are aggressively and successfully pursuing these new lines of business."

About NPG Cable Inc.

NPG Cable Inc. is a wholly owned business unit of the News-Press & Gazette Co., a fourth-generation family-run business based in St. Joseph, Mo. NPG Cable operates local cable television systems in Missouri, Arizona and California. The parent company also owns television stations in El Paso, Texas; Bend, Oregon; Palm Springs, Calif.; Yuma, Ariz.; and Idaho Falls, Idaho, along with two radio stations in the Palm Springs market. The company publishes a number of daily and weekly newspapers in Missouri and Kansas.

About MetaSwitch

MetaSwitch is an industry-leading vendor of switching and applications solutions for both packet and circuit-switched networks. Its widely deployed core session control and media/signaling gateway products support a full range of Class 4/5 capabilities, while its MetaSphere service delivery platform and applications suite enables a broad set of hosted IP communications services. Customers include many of the world's leading operators of wireline, wireless and cable networks, with deployments that scale to millions of subscribers. For more information, please visit www.metaswitch.com.