Service providers are focusing on providing newer value added services to improve customer satisfaction and gain a competitive edge in the market. They are shifting from on-demand applications and are aiming at providing real-time application to their subscribers. Integra5, a global leader in real-time converged services announced that Bristol Virginia Utilities (News - Alert) (BVU) OptiNet, a pioneer in municipal telecommunications, will bundle Integra5’s i5 converged application, the “OnScreen CallerID,” as part of its i5 Converged Services Platform (CSP (News - Alert)).

The OnScreen CallerID feature identifies the name and number of an incoming phone call and displays the details on your television screen. This display of the CallerID occurs even before the phone rings and can be displayed on a maximum of three TV’s. This feature is a reflection of the trend among service providers to continuously improve customer satisfaction.

Wes Rosenbalm (News - Alert), BVU’s CEO and president, said in a press release: “OnScreen CallerID allows us to deliver a superior customer experience today, while the i5 CSP provides future-proof technology for the seamless rollout of additional converged services.”

The i5 CSP has a distributed architecture and is highly scalable and is also easily deployable. It is suitable for IPTV, cable and hybrid network environments and also scales up to meet the needs of multiple TVs and PCs of a household.

Integra5 (News - Alert) believes that this is only the beginning of a host of features that are bound to increase customer satisfaction. Integra5 CEO Meredith Flynn-Ripley says “By deploying the i5 CSP, industry pacesetters like BVU are able to quickly and easily take advantage of more advanced converged services that span multiple devices – such as PC Caller ID, Visual Voicemail and Text Messaging to the TV – to stay ahead of competitors, forge lasting customer connections and secure their position in this rapidly evolving market.”

Some of the additional features that are being considered by BVU OptiNet as part of the i5 CSP include “Personalization” features (enabling pictures etc to be associated with Caller ID), Visual Voicemail on TV and Message Waiting Indication on the set-top box.

The OnScreen CallerID feature is bundled free when the subscriber opts for the triple play combination of telephone with caller ID, digital cable and high-speed Internet. For others who do not wish to subscribe to the triple play combination, the OnScreen CallerID feature can also be availed separately for a monthly fee of $1.99. This feature would be available in all the areas served by BVU.

Bristol Virginia Utilities (BVU) is a municipally owned system providing utility services to the City of Bristol, Virginia and the surrounding area. BVU OptiNet, the telecommunications division of BVU provides local and long distance telephone, cable TV and high speed Internet. It is known for deploying the nation’s first fiber-to-the-user (FTTU) network. For more information, please visit http://www.bvu-optinet.com

Integra5 is a leader in providing real-time converged services. Integra5’s i5 application modules powered by the i5 Converged Services Platform combines voice, data and mobile services to be delivered to multiple devices like TVs, PCs and mobile devices. For more information about Integra5, visit http://www.integra5.com.

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Radhika Raghunath is a contributing writer for TMCnet.