First IPTV Service in Latin America Goes Wireless in the Home

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A F RUCKUS WIRELESS, INC. IPTV RUCKUS WIRELESS, INC. IPTV Typicaly setup needed to enable Wi-Fi for Internet Protocol Television (IPTV). (PRNewsFoto/Ruckus Wireless, Inc.)[KS] BERLIN, GERMANY 10/07/2007

    BERLIN, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- BROADBAND WORLD FORUM -- Ruckus Wireless
 today announced that it has been selected by Telefonica del Sur (TelSur), a
 leading provider of Internet-based multimedia and communication services in
 Chile, to supply its MediaFlex(TM) to support Latin America's first
 commercial IPTV service.
     (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071008/CLM029 )
     The Ruckus MediaFlex system is a unique multimedia Wi-Fi solution
 designed to extend the range and increase the reliability of Wi-Fi signals
 while automatically avoiding interference as it occurs. This allows
 flawless streaming of multimedia, such as IPTV channels, over standard
 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi.
     With the Ruckus Wireless MediaFlex system, TelSur IPTV customers can
 extend the benefits of location freedom to their TV viewing pleasure.
 Televisions can now be placed virtually anywhere in their home without
 cumbersome and costly cabling while ensuring flicker-free TV. Additionally,
 the Ruckus MediaFlex system allows TelSur to install its IPTV service in
 less than half the time required to wire a home with coaxial cable or
 Ethernet wiring, allowing three times as many installations per day.
     "With Ruckus Wireless, Telefonica del Sur is moving forward the state
 of broadband communications and in-home multimedia distribution in Latin
 America," said Jorge Atton, CEO of Telefonica del Sur. "Together with
 Ruckus, we are able to maintain a high level of reliability and predictable
 performance over Wi-Fi that, until now, just hasn't been possible."
     Yankee Group forecasts broadband and TV revenue in Latin America will
 experience solid growth: 110% for broadband by 2010 from more than $3
 billion in 2005 to nearly $7 billion. Chile has been at the forefront in
 terms of convergence.
     "TelSur has aggressively overcome many barriers that have delayed the
 arrival of IPTV within Latin America, such as insufficient network capacity
 and the high cost of service delivery to and within the home," said Selina
 Lo, president and CEO of Ruckus Wireless.
     Lo continued: "Around the globe, Wi-Fi is taking on a much more
 strategic role as the defacto connection technology to edge networks.
 Whether users are at home watching TV, on a park bench accessing metro
 Wi-Fi networks, at a hot spot watching YouTube videos on their iPhone, or
 at work streaming news and information over the wireless LAN, they expect a
 reliable connection and predictable performance. TelSur recognizes the
 importance of Ruckus technology to transform Wi-Fi into a reliable utility
 in the home. It's one of the first broadband providers in the world to
 aggressively use Smart Wi-Fi to provide unique, differentiated and reliable
 services."
     Named the best IPTV distribution delivery solution at the 2007 IPTV
 World Series Awards, the Ruckus MediaFlex system has been selected by more
 than 75 broadband providers around the world including: Belgacom (Belgium),
 PCCW (Hong Kong), Portugal Telecom and Sonaecom (Portugal), Telefonica O2
 (Czech Republic), FASTWEB (Italy), Magnet Networks (Ireland), Maxisat
 (Finland), SingTel (Singapore), Slovenian Telekom "Siol" and T-2
 (Slovenia), Pioneer Telephone (Oklahoma), MTA Communications (Alaska) and
 more than 50 independent telephone operating companies throughout North
 America.
     Introducing WiTV from TelSur
     Launched in July of this year, TelSur's "WiTV" IPTV service is being
 offered on its broadband network between the southern Chilean cities of
 Concepcion and Puerto Montt. TelSur has invested heavily in upgrading and
 expanding its broadband network and currently has more than 270, 000
 clients.
     The Ruckus MediaFlex system is being bundled with TelSur's WiTV IPTV
 service to subscribers as the primary wireless technology to reliably
 transmit multicast IPTV streams to televisions around the home.
     TelSur's basic IPTV service includes 32 IPTV channels, a Ruckus
 Wireless MediaFlex router and receiver, a broadband gateway and a set top
 box for US$20 a month. More televisions can be easily added for $5/month,
 which includes another Ruckus Wireless MediaFlex adapter and Amino set top
 box.
     Over an NGN infrastructure, TelSur is delivering 20 Mbps of broadband
 capacity to subscribers. This will support three simultaneous MPEG-2 IPTV
 streams. TelSur will initially provide installation of the Ruckus Wireless
 MediaFlex system for its subscribers but is moving to a self-installation
 model. It also plans to make the Ruckus MediaFlex available in its retail
 outlets, thereby giving subscribers the ability to install IPTV when and
 where they desire.
     What is IPTV?
     IPTV is a new way of streaming real-time television programs, movies
 and other video content over a broadband IP network. Unlike conventional
 TV, IPTV requires connecting multimedia receivers (known as IP
 set-top-boxes) to a computer network to receive video transmissions from
 the broadband modem or home gateway.
     The proliferation of wireless and IP services has lowered traditional
 barriers to entry to wireline communications markets, giving new,
 competitive service providers ever-increasing line losses and margin
 erosion. To counteract this, traditional communications service providers
 face two strategic imperatives: 1) increase their services portfolio to
 include new broadband services like IPTV, and 2) decrease their operational
 expenditures to remain cost-competitive.
     Since most home computer networks do not extend to areas where the
 televisions are located, consumers have to put up with expensive and/or
 unsightly Ethernet cable installations. While technologies exist today to
 make Ethernet work over existing coaxial or electrical wiring in a home,
 their applicability is location-dependent.
     Furthermore, consumers everywhere have selected Wi-Fi as the home
 networking technology of choice. The Ruckus MediaFlex system is the first
 and only Wi-Fi system purposely designed to deliver picture-perfect video
 to all corners of a home by automatically steering Wi-Fi signals around
 interference and physical barriers. Once installed, the system can connect
 multiple TVs and set-top-boxes, as well as portable video receivers such as
 multimedia laptops and handheld multimedia players, without the hassles of
 new wiring or re- wiring.
     About Telefonica del Sur S.A.
     Based in Valdivia, Telefonica del Sur, the leading telecommunications
 company in the south of Chile, is a 74%-owned subsidiary of Quinenco
 Holdings (NYSE:   LQ), one of Chile's largest business conglomerates with
 consolidated assets of over USD2.6 billion. With more than 270,000
 customers, it covers both residential and business clients in the 8th, 9th,
 10th and 11th regions of the country. Over the past several years,
 Telefonica del Sur has been undergoing an important transition from a
 traditional fixed telephony provider to a multi-product telecommunications
 operator offering Internet, security services (tele-vigilance), portable
 telephony under PHS technology, IPTV services and specialized telecom
 services for businesses.
     About Ruckus Wireless, Inc.
     Based in Sunnyvale, California, Ruckus Wireless is a next-generation
 Wi-Fi company credited with pioneering "Smart Wi-Fi" technology. Named a
 2007 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, Ruckus Wireless was
 formed in 2004 at Sequoia Capital. The company designs, develops and
 markets industrial- strength Wi-Fi systems that provide reliable
 distribution of delay-sensitive multimedia content and services over
 standard 802.11 technology. Its flagship product, ZoneFlex, is the first
 wireless LAN system to combine the best in centralized wireless LAN
 principles with state-of-the-art Wi-Fi advances such as smart antenna
 arrays and wireless meshing. Its MediaFlex line of multimedia wireless
 routers is used by more than 125 broadband operators around the world to
 extend digital services such as IPTV throughout the home without wires. The
 company's patented hardware and software technologies deliver predictable
 performance, extended range and real-time adaptability to changing Wi-Fi
 environments. The company has raised approximately $32 million in financing
 from premier venture capital investors, consumer electronics companies and
 broadband operators such a Motorola, T-Ventures, Telus, Sutter Hill
 Ventures, Mitsui, Sequoia and others. Ruckus Wireless is led by President
 and CEO Selina Lo. For more information, visit the company's Web site at
 http://www.ruckuswireless.com.
     Media Contacts
     David Callisch
     Ruckus Wireless
     david@ruckuswireless.com
     +1-408-504-5487 mobile
 
 

SOURCE Ruckus Wireless, Inc.