MARIO J PINO

While at Etisalat, in addition to the business development and strategy work I did as the Director, Business Development and Strategy, within the Digital Media Services Unit (DMSU), at Etisalat, I also was Acting Director/Platforms Management.

Therefore, not only did I have the great role of identifying and partnering with great technology and platform partners, but also worked on the implementation of the technologies and platforms that could allow Etisalat and it’s subsidiaries to deploy great services to users quicker and more efficiently.

The platforms that were deployed or were in the final stages of deployment are:

IPTV 2.0 (Launched on 12 Oct 2011, Etisalat UAE) – As the Marketing Launch Director for the next generation IPTV Platform of Etisalat, a lot of work went into ensuring that Etisalat can live up to it’s marketing message of ‘Get ready to be amazed’. After months of testing and adjustments, the eLife TV service was launched on 12 Oct 2011, during the Gitex 2011 event. The launch included the first phase of services and many more features and new services are planned to be added to this platform throughout the 2012. Keep your eyes and ears open as Etisalat provides users in the UAE with a truly connected ‘eLife’ experience where they can be entertained anywhere, anytime, and anyway. (IPTV 2 0 was Soft Launched 23 May 2011).

Etisalat xGames (Soft Launched in 2010, Launched in Q3 2011) – If you want download the latest games, order your own server, admin a server, get the latest gamer information, and more, Etisalat xGames quickly became one of the top places in the Middle East for users to get this information and these services. As the service evolves, you will see some exciting PC games that we will be introduced with partners throughout 2012.

eLife OnWeb on LG Smart TVs (Soft Launched in July 2011) – As of July 2011, anyone buying an LG Smart TV or LG 3D/Smart TV in the UAE and having at least an Etisalat mobile number, which then connects the TV via an Etisalat eLife broadband or any broadband connection within the UAE will be able to access the eLife OnWeb service and content. This is the first implementation of the Etisalat OTT (Over-The-Top) service on third party devices. In early 2012, you will see access to the eLife OnWeb service via the PC and iPad, followed with many more devices.

eLife OnDemand (Video-On-Demand) on LG Smart TVs (Live Testing Commenced-July 2011, Announced and Demonstrated in July 2011, Launch Scheduled with the Etisalat RGW) - Testing is ongoing on LG Smart TVs and the eLife OnDemand application as the service prepares to be launched in conjunction with the Etisalat Residential Gateway (RGW). Once the eLife OnDemand is launched, anyone buying an LG Smart TV or LG 3D/Smart TV in the UAE and having an Etisalat eLife 2P or 3P account with a smart residential gateway (RGW) will be able to access a library of 500+ movies. With eLife OnDemand, users can watch great movies when they want and without a set-top-box, as the eLife OnDemand is an application within the LG Smart TV and 3D/Smart TV. This should be the world’s first implementation of a managed video-on-demand service from a managed (not OTT) IPTV back-end in the world.

eLife OnWeb on LG Smart Upgraders (Launched 9 Oct 2011, Gitex Shopper) – As of 9 Oct 2011, anyone buying the LG Upgrader in the United Arab Emirates will be able to access 1000’s of video content on-demand. The LG Smart Upgrader allows any TV with an available HDMI connection to become ‘Smart’. The device has a familiar home dashboard where users will be able to access the Etisalat eLife OnWeb service. Over 36 unique content partners are on the service today with 25+ more being added by the end of Q1 2012. This is the first implementation of an Over-The-Top service of a telco in this region being made available via small set-top-box that is NOT owned by a telco. The partnership with LG is in full swing and more and consumers will see the Etisalat eLife OnWeb service on many more ‘screens’/devices soon.

eLife OnWeb on LG Smart TVs Throughout MEA – (Regional Roll-Out, Available Jan 2012) – In Jan 2012, the eLife OnWeb service on the LG Smart TVs was extended beyond the UAE to over 35 countries within the Middle East and Africa (MEA). Users can access a limited quantity of ‘free’ content while the majority of the content is available by way of a single subscription to a large number of content (from over 30+ content partners and growing), or a single ‘a-la-carte’ subscription to certain content services, or on an ‘on-demand’ basis where users rent access for a pre-determined amount of time (24 or 48 hours) in return for a one-time payment (e.g. VoD)

CTOi Consulting Blog

9 Nov 2011, Benjamin Schwarz, CTOi Consulting, writes about what he saw after visiting the Etisalat booth at the IP&TV World Summit in Dubai, UAE.