Background
Vodafone NZ is one of Aotearoa’sleading digital services and connectivitycompanies and it believes every NewZealander will thrive with access to theworld’s best digital services. It offers almost3 million connections to Consumer andBusiness customers, and its existing mobilenetwork covers 98.5% of where Kiwis live,work and play. Vodafone New Zealandis owned by Infratil and Brookfield AssetManagement. It is now a partner marketin the Vodafone Group, one of the world’slargest telecommunications companies.
Objective
With the development of the VodafoneTV Gen 2 set-top box (STB) underway,Vodafone New Zealand wanted to ensurethat subscribers would have access to awide range of video content at launch.This would involve serving viewers withaccess to a variety of well-known localVideo On Demand (VOD) offerings froma single platform.Vodafone needed video experiences forall of its VOD partners, including TVNZ,Neon, ThreeNow, and Play Stuff. It was alsokeen to ensure a seamless and naturalexperience for viewers, enabling easynavigation between the different servicesand the content provided by each.
Solution
Vodafone New Zealand needed a vendor thatcould efficiently develop and launch videoservices for its updated offering. KnowingAccedo had previous experience of theVodafone TV STB made it the perfect fit forthe project. Having existing relationships withlocal OTT vendors meant that Accedo was ina position to work with the team to develop,test, and launch exclusive video experiencesto run on the Vodafone STB. Workingcollaboratively alongside the vendors andVodafone NZ allowed Accedo to deliver OTTservices that viewers wanted to see.The 2nd generation STB needed to offer avariety of VOD content in one place, providingeasy access to a selection of video servicesensuring Vodafone New Zealand couldmaintain its consumer appeal.
Results
With Accedo’s knowledge and adaptivedevelopments, Vodafone New Zealandcompleted the project on time and withinbudget. Neon/Mediaworks and TVNZ onDemand went live at the same time as theGen 2 STB was available in the market. Accedoused its XDK2 software development kitto build the applications for Neon, TVNZ,ThreeNow and Play Stuff was developed withAccedo’s XDK4 software.
