Estimated reading time - 3 min
By Vincent Nallatamby, CEO, Tempow
Listen to “Building a Better Set-Top Box with Bluetooth”
For network service providers (NSPs), the set-top box (STB) offers a robust opportunity to engage with consumers in new and compelling ways. If NSPs can optimize their STBs to offer services that go beyond the delivery of high-fidelity video, they can build closer relationships with their subscribers and create lasting “stickier” relationships, even as consumers continue to cut the cord in favor of over-the-top (OTT) services.
To this end, manufacturers like Technicolor, known as Vantiva, are making their STBs more open, offering NSPs an opportunity to incorporate functionalities from third parties that add value to existing offerings, create new services, and lay the foundation for establishing differentiation from the growing competition for the hearts and minds of consumers.
At Tempow, we see audio services that are enabled by Bluetooth as one such potential differentiator; one that will become an increasingly important feature for STBs. And Technicolor is helping us realize this vision.
Tempow is a startup created in 2016 in Paris. Our mission is to take Bluetooth audio technology beyond the conventional wisdom of its limitations to create new experiences for consumers. We are developing software for STBs, smartphones, and Bluetooth speakers to create new functionalities that will be appreciated by subscribers and create new opportunities for NSPs to offer more value and generate new revenue streams.
Examples of emerging use cases:
- One of our efforts to accomplish this mission, for instance, revolves around a project to modify the Bluetooth software so that any Bluetooth headsets can be directly connected to the STB, enabling multiple members of a household to watch TV quietly late at night without disturbing the rest of the family.
- The technology can be further enhanced to simultaneously deliver sound from movies or TV programs in different languages.
- We are launching the first 5.1 wireless Bluetooth sound system. This means that cost efficient Bluetooth speakers can be deployed throughout the home to provide consumers with high-quality surround-sound experiences.
- Additional opportunities are emerging as we build on Bluetooth technology to expand how voice interfaces can be used to communicate with AI-enabled devices like Alexa and Google Assistant.
Technicolor HERO Program Brings Tempow Innovation to NSPs
Technicolor Connected Home recognized the growing opportunities associated with moving away from closed proprietary customer premises equipment (CPE) platforms. It has opened a range of new functionalities that can be delivered at the application layer of the technology stack.
So, when Technicolor launched its HERO Partner Program in 2018, we at Tempow were eager to participate in the initiative. The program enables NSPs to identify developers of innovations that can be leveraged to improve network performance and operating margins while offering new, profitable services that generate top line growth and build customer loyalty.
For companies like Tempow, the HERO Program provides access to Technicolor Connected Home devices and engineering and enables us to interact with Technicolor’s customer facing teams to better understand and address the requirements of NSPs around the world. It is a critically important partnership because Technicolor has the broadest portfolio and largest installed base of broadband gateways and related CPE in consumers’ homes around the world.
To that end, Technicolor has integrated Tempow technology into their STBs as a technical reference design and we are now jointly introducing NSPs to the benefits associated with the expanded array of Bluetooth functionality that can be delivered to connected home subscribers.
For more information about Tempow’s Bluetooth functionality, please visit: https://youtu.be/ZpnWV8-zDXE
