Mumbai: Canal + Technologies (C+T) of France, represented in India by Recreate Solutions, has announced that it will stage a live demonstration, the first of the its kind in India, of its conditional access system (CAS), Mediaguard, in the forthcoming 11th Convergence India 2003, which is scheduled to be held on 11-13 March 2003 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

C+T will also showcase Mediahighway, its middleware, which enables the set-top box software to interpret and execute interactive applications.

Mediaguard provides digital broadcasters with business-critical reliability, ease of use and secure conditional access. The system also offers maximum flexibility for the introduction of multiple programme offerings to segmented audiences, coupled with transaction management, such as pay-per-view and e-commerce.

Says C+T general manager (sales, Asia Pacific) Nicolas Andrieu: “The Indian television industry is coming of age and is ready for the technological revolution, which has been long overdue. We, at C+T, are proud to be a part of the revolution and having pulled off yet another ‘first’ by staging this live demo of CAS in India.”

C+T was the first to deploy digital satellite and cable in the European interactive TV space in 1996 and 1997, respectively, and, in 1998, was the first digital terrestrial player in interactive TV in the world. It was also the first to deploy a Java-based middleware solution in 1999.

“I am certain that C+T will play a major role in India’s interactive TV revolution as well,” adds Andrieu. C+T powers more than 14 million set-top boxes that are deployed on every continent on cable, satellite and digital terrestrial networks.

Over 30 digital operators and broadcasters have already deployed its interactive TV middleware Mediahighway and the CAS Mediaguard, including Canalsatellite in France, Surewest (formerly WINfirst) in the US, Astro Measat and Zee TV in Asia, to deliver true interactive applications to subscribers via interactive applications. C+T has already deployed its CAS - Mediaguard™, for the Zee TV bouquet in India.

Says Recreate Solutions CEO Bhaskar Majumdar: “The success enjoyed by C+T’s products in other parts of the world is the result of its commitment to providing quality to its customers. C+T is looking at the Asian subcontinent as the market of the future. The high-rate of TV consumption and the growing needs of the organised cable TV sector are clear indicators that India will soon be one of the leading regions, and C+T is all set to provide its solutions for cable, DTH and DTT platforms.”

C+T had announced, in mid-last year, its intention to market its Mediaguard and Mediahighway in India. C+T has the expertise in designing and implementing digital TV systems and in offering its clients open standard solutions.