Kingston MediaStream, the advanced satellite communications services provider of the Kingston Communications Group, has announced the formation of a new division to exclusively service the enterprise sector. In conjunction with this announcement, the company has also launched its IP streaming platform, the technology foundation of the services the new division will provide. IP streaming allows high quality video and audio files to be broadcast live over the Internet, and removes the delay associated with having to first download such files. Analysts predict that the IP streaming market will be worth E7.8bn by 2003.1
The launch of this division and the IP streaming platform is a major development for our company, said Nick Thompson, Managing Director of Kingston MediaStream. It positions Kingston MediaStream as the only UK company able to provide a true ‘one-stop-shop’ to enterprises looking to invest in and expand employee and customer communications.
IP streaming to the enterprise desktop provides radical new opportunities for the delivery of interactive, Internet-based services, particularly in the areas of e-learning and dynamic multimedia Web broadcasting. The new division will provide businesses with IP streamed services over Internet, intranet and extranet connections, with all links provided via satellite. The Kingston MediaStream platform enables live, interactive or recorded content to be streamed directly to employees’ and customers’ desktops. This new service complements and builds on the Business TV services already on offer from the Kingston MediaStream TV Facilities division.
While competitors may be able to offer streaming facilities, Kingston MediaStream is the only solutions provider able to see a project through from conception to production to delivery worldwide, continued Thompson. Our impressive range of services and facilities includes the new virtual studio, Symphony edit suite and a data centre for server-based media storage.
The IP streaming platform is at the core of the Enterprise Division said Antoinette Hunter, Head of Enterprise Services. Not only will it provide a new dimension to traditional Business TV and distance learning solutions, but it will offer a range of IP services using all the benefits of satellite at competitive rates and with full customer support.
Analysts predict that businesses will increasingly deploy IP streamed applications such as e-learning and online training direct to the desktop. A recent report from IDC predicts that by 2004, e-learning will account for one fifth of the total training market.11 The IP streamed applications provided by the Enterprise Division are further enhanced by Kingston MediaStream’s high bandwidth satellite networking links – this minimises the impact of local bandwidth bottlenecks and problems associated with delivery over ‘the last mile’
The Enterprise Division can also enhance the options available to website managers by providing interactive, ‘rich media’ content and has the capability to offer digital and ‘in-house’ radio. To support the raft of services on offer, Kingston MediaStream provides networking solutions including Internet and managed file delivery services. Further product announcements to complement those already available are expected over the coming months.
