Huawei to launch video aggregation platform in Europe

NEW DELHI: Chinese multinational telecommunications equipment company, Huawei said that it will be launching video aggregation service in Europe by December 2015.

The video aggregation service is offering the latest regional and international video content and applications from all over the world.

This follows a successful roll-out of the technology in the Middle East and China, where the telco-partnered OTT (Over-The-Top) service is already being streamed by 8 million TV users, keen to watch their favourite Bollywood, Hollywood, Arabic and Chinese movies and series on any device.

“To test market reaction in Europe, we are planning to launch the service phase by phase,” explained Dr Yiming Cao, Vice-President of Carrier Software at Huawei.

“In an initial stage, we will focus on OTT Video, the app being available in IoS and Android smartphones, offering excellent experiences to meet European users’ needs," said Dr Cao.

The app will become available in 2016 on Android set-top-boxes, allowing a multi-screen sharing experience with home TVs, although it will be possible to watch Smart Video Cloud offerings everywhere, at home or on the go, on smartphones, tablets or TVs.

Video will not be the only offer to European users. Huawei also plans to introduce games to the market from its partners in 2016.

“We are aware that a large number of European users are also keen to play games on TV, since a bigger screen can definitely enable a better experience, especially during action or strategy games,” said Dr Cao.

He further added, “The fact is most mobile games on Google Play currently can’t fit onto a TV screen. Thanks to advanced technology, Huawei is introducing a new tool that can convert most mobile games to fit a variety of TV screens with only minor development efforts from game vendors. We are also making it possible to play the game on the TV via a smartphone.”

The video service will reach end users via either Huawei’s distribution channel or those of the telcos partnering with Huawei. A Smart Video Cloud Europe centre has been set up in the UK dedicated to the building of a European digital video eco-system with the cooperation of telcos and Huawei’s local and global partners.

This localized business operation will help European telcos and other Huawei partners develop video services that enable them to compete globally.