Irish voice over internet protocol (VoIP) provider Blueface is planning to expand into audio and video streaming as well as creating a user-generated video portal and an internet TV station.
The company has signed a deal with California-based Wowza Media Systems to use its Wowza Media Server Pro to deploy audio and video streaming services in Ireland, the UK and Europe.
Blueface already uses Wowza’s technology to stream Newstalk.ie content and will be expanding to support other radio broadcasters.
The company also plans to launch an internet TV channel with both live and on-demand programmes and a user-generated video portal.
The aim of the Wowza Pro architecture is to enable Blueface to create new services for its VoIP subscribes as well as generate new revenue streams for the company.
“In Wowza Media Server Pro we found a Flash server with the scalability, functionality, and, equally important, the economics to support a business we confidently expect to reach millions of people,” says Feargal Brady, CEO of Blueface.
“What’s especially interesting for us is Wowza’s ability to re-stream MP3 to Flash players from the SHOUTcast feeds commonly used by radio broadcasters. This is a perfect fit with our plan to enable broadcasters to use Flash, the most accessible format on the internet, to stream their content to much larger audiences.”
The Wowza Media Server Pro is architected in Java to provide extensibility to support new services. “We’re using Wowza to enhance our VoIP service with streamed music-on-hold capabilities,” says Brady.
“Even more exciting, we’re working with the Wowza technical team to create a click-to-call softphone, which will enable our subscribers to initiate and receive calls on their computers using their browser and the Flash player.
“No need to download a special client – subscribers will be able to start using the service the moment they sign up!” he said.
By John Kennedy
