Viapass TV Selects Microsoft Mediaroom to Power Next-Generation Hospitality TV Services

REDMOND, Washington -

- The service will provide hotel guests with access to a highly customized in-room TV experience including interactive applications.

Viapass (www.viapass.com/Index.aspx), the French network services and telecoms operator, has selected Microsoft Mediaroom (www.microsoft.com/mediaroom/) with virtualization as the software platform to deliver a breakthrough Internet Protocol television (IPTV) service to its business customers worldwide through its division Viapass TV.

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The Viapass TV service enables hotels and Viapass’s other business customers, such as major hospitals and luxury residences, to take advantage of the Mediaroom platform to deliver a customized TV service, including live TV, high-definition TV, video on demand and rich interactive TV applications, over a private Internet Protocol network.

“Hotel operators are excited by the possibilities offered by next-generation IPTV,” said Eric Legros, sales and marketing manager for Viapass. “They have already started to talk about our Microsoft Mediaroom-based solution as the most advanced hospitality juke box on the market. With Mediaroom, we can bring them a cost-effective platform that offers guests a highly personalized TV service with an extensive lineup of live and on-demand high-definition content as well as innovative information and service applications. Hotel guests are accustomed to a sophisticated TV viewing experience at home, and hotel operators, especially in the luxury sector, need to ensure that the TV experience they offer matches or even surpasses this, helping them to differentiate from their competitors, drive services revenue and attract and retain clientele.”

In addition to enabling the delivery of a great lineup of digital TV channels and an extensive video on demand library, the Mediaroom platform provides an applications platform for Viapass and its customers to add innovative TV applications tailored to meet the needs of their guests. Possibilities include up-to-the minute travel information and financial and personalized news applications.

As the official Internet and network services provider for all events hosted by Cannes Palais des Festivals et des Congres, Viapass is also able to distribute special event content, or even specific TV channels such as TV Festival (which broadcasts live during the Cannes Film Festival), via the Mediaroom platform for hotel guests to watch in their rooms.

Viapass initially targeted the French Riviera market, where the company provides high-profile Internet and network services for many of the large hotels. Viapass is already seeing significant interest from international chains looking to use this Mediaroom-powered service to extend their TV services to hotels across Europe and overseas. Viapass also has been discussing this solution with key organizations in the healthcare industry, and a number of large hospitals are already very interested in this Mediaroom-powered solution.

Viapass TV is expected to be the first customer in Europe to launch a service using Mediaroom with virtualization (www.microsoft.com/Mediaroom/PR/VirtualizationPR.aspx), in the last quarter of 2009. The use of Mediaroom with virtualization enables Viapass TV to deploy a full-featured IPTV service with greatly reduced hardware requirements at a customer site in a matter of weeks. In addition to network engineering and integration, Viapass TV will handle all content acquisition and management, while partnering with Cisco Systems Inc. for networking equipment, and with several providers for set-top boxes.

“Virtualization has enabled Microsoft to extend the Mediaroom footprint to new markets,” said Colin Morrison, EMEA sales director for the TV, Video and Music Business at Microsoft Corp. “We’re delighted that Viapass TV has chosen to use our technology to deliver a groundbreaking IPTV service for the hospitality industry. Mediaroom enables Viapass TV customers to offer their guests the very best in connected entertainment.”

About Microsoft Mediaroom

The award-winning Microsoft Mediaroom Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) and multimedia software platform is the most widely deployed IPTV platform in the world. Mediaroom is driving the future of television by enabling broadband service providers to deliver new connected TV and entertainment experiences to consumers worldwide. It provides new ways for consumers to experience TV as part of their connected, digital lifestyle, while also creating new business opportunities for broadband service providers, hardware manufacturers, content creators, advertisers and application developers. Over 20 of the world’s leading service providers across four continents have selected the Mediaroom platform to drive their digital TV services. More information on Mediaroom and the opportunity to deliver the best in TV plus all your media in one place is available at www.microsoft.com/Mediaroom.

About Viapass TV

Viapass TV is a Division of Viapass SAS, a French operator for Network engineering and Internet Access. The company and most of Viapass staff have been supplying Internet and network service and managing small, medium and large events on the French Riviera and Barcelona for more than 10 years. Viapass is the Official Internet and Network Services Provider for all events hosted by Cannes Palais des Festivals et des Congres and is also the official supplier for numerous large events in Europe. Viapass TV benefits from Viapass SAS experience in best-in-class events services. The Viapass TV Website is www.viapass.tv.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Source: Microsoft Corp

Edelman Mediaroom PR Team, +1-206-223-1606, TVMMediaroom at edelman.com, for Microsoft; or Eric Legros, sales and marketing manager of Viapass, +33(0)4-97-06-30-06, e.legros at viapass.com / NOTE TO EDITORS: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at https://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft’s corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at https://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.mspx. / Logo: https://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO