Bristol Virginia Utilities (BVU) will bolster its triple-play offering by serving up a TV Caller ID service powered by Integra5.
BVU launched Integra5’s i5 Converged Services Platform (CSP) across its footprint, which includes Bristol, Washington County and Abingdon, all in Virginia. BVU is a municipally-owned utility with a telecommunications division, BVU OptiNet, which provides triple-play services over a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) architecture.
The TV Caller ID service, which BVU has dubbed OnScreen CallerID, displays the names and numbers of incoming phone calls on up to three TVs before the phone even rings. The application is free and automatically activated for BVU OptiNet customers who subscribe to a triple-play combination of telephone with caller ID, digital cable and high-speed Internet. BVU is also offering the service separately for a monthly fee of $1.99.
“Converged communications services are gaining momentum with operators of all sizes, and TV Caller ID is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the new services that consumers are ready and looking for,” said Integra5 CEO Meredith Flynn-Ripley, in a statement. “By deploying the i5 CSP, industry pacesetters like BVU are able to quickly and easily take advantage of more advanced converged services that span multiple devices – such as PC Caller ID, Visual Voicemail and Text Messaging to the TV – to stay ahead of competitors, forge lasting customer connections and secure their position in this rapidly evolving market.”
BVU OptiNet is considering other Integra5 services for deployment next year, including Visual Voicemail to the TV, Message Waiting to the TV and adding pictures to TV Caller ID.
Integra5 has been deploying converged services applications since 2004, including top-20 MSOs such as Knology and Wide Open West.
