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Regina, SK – Access Communications, a not-for-profit 100% Saskatchewan-owned co-operative, announced today that WISI, a global leader in carrier-grade video delivery solutions, will help power their new next-gen IPTV video service. WISI’s flexible Inca IP Video Platform will provide transcoding for both linear and adaptive bit-rate (ABR) services. Other vendors include Vecima Networks for packaging and Seachange International for middleware.

This new IPTV video service completely displaces their existing QAM video service, which transforms the entire headend to IPTV and provides versatile multiscreen video for subscribers. A year in the making, Access plans to launch in September 2020. 

“WISI is more interested in being a partner than a sales company,” said Jeffery De Sarno, CTO for Access Communications. “WISI earned our business and partnership for our next-gen video deployment. The technical and sales teams at WISI are best in class; we truly feel like we receive white-glove service from them.”

Access chose WISI’s Inca IP Video Platform to transcode its entire channel line-up. Inca’s modular platform bridges the gap between legacy equipment and new video technologies, including HEVC and ABR transcode applications. It easily replaces racks of legacy, end-of-life, or end-of-support headend equipment with one sophisticated platform.

“We look at Inca like a Swiss army knife. The platform is so flexible that without changing our headend, without uprooting anything, we would be able to pivot our service by adding a couple of licenses. No other product is able to do this,” said De Sarno. “Add to that the low power consumption, the high scalability for our ABR deployment, and the significant cost savings we gained in the data center - no other transcoding vendors compare.

The Inca IP Video Platform is powered by award-winning VidiOS™ management and monitoring tools. The VidiOS™ user interface was designed with visibility in mind and includes an intuitive, user-friendly experience to review video statistics and analyze data. Features include inbound and outbound video thumbnails, stream sample downloads, extensive statistical analysis, and end-to-end process logging.

“Deployment and operation were very intuitive for our team. The interface is great and it’s very easy for both junior and senior engineers to work with the product,” said De Sarno.

“As a Canadian-based company, the team at WISI America is thrilled to be a part of this new service launch for Access Communications,” said Robert Bell, CEO of WISI America. “We are excited to help power this service and bring carrier-grade multiscreen video to Saskatchewan communities.

To learn more about the Inca platform, please visit www.wisi.tv.

About WISI

Founded in 1926, WISI has consistently innovated video reception and distribution technology for nearly 100 years. With customers in more than 150 countries, WISI helps video distributors minimize operating costs while maximizing the scale and efficiency at every point in their network. For more information on WISI’s Inca, Tangram and Chameleon product families, visit www.wisi.tv.

About Access Communications Co-operative

Access Communications Co-operative is one of Saskatchewan’s largest telecommunications companies, but we do so much more than provide reliable, affordable Internet, television, telephone, and security services. What makes Access unique is our involvement in the communities we serve, especially through our Access7 community channels.

Access Communications began serving customers in 1978. Since then, we have grown into a province-wide co-operative serving over 235 communities and 160,000 sq. km of rural areas in Saskatchewan. As a not-for-profit co-operative, we invest 100% of our earnings right back into the communities and rural areas where we live and do business.