Milan, September 26, 2006 - FASTWEB is soon to offer hHigh-Ddefinition programmes from the BBC. The service is the result of an agreement between Italy's second largest fixed telephony operator, the first provider to launch video-on-demand at European level in 2001, and the British Broadcasting CorporationBBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC.
The agreement strengthens the co-operation between the two companies: a long-standing content provider of FASTWEB IPTV platform, the BBC, BBC Worldwide has always recognized the potential of this reliable, flexible and state-of-the-art transmission system.
FASTWEB TV users will soon have access to Planet Earth Planet Earth and Pride*, using the new multiplatform hybrid decoder supporting both DTT and High Definition. Gradually the HD catalogue of FASTWEB IP TV will grow in terms of titles such as Ancient Rome and Krakatoa.
Ben Donald, Head of Northern Mediterranean Distribution, BBC Worldwide said, "BBC Worldwide is a leading global force in content distribution and Digital Media is one of our most important business areas at the moment. We're thrilled to be extending our collaboration with FASTWEB to further develop our activity in this arena."
"We are very proud of this further cooperation with BBCwith BBC Worldwide. It represents a key acknowledgement of FASTWEB IP TV, always at the leading edge both in terms of technology and contents", commented Paolo Agostinelli, Head of Media and TV at FASTWEB. "The supply of HD contents gives further momentum to a relationship starterd in 2001 when FASTWEB VoD services were launched".