(6 March 2006 5:30 pm)

MUMBAI: The US-based broadband network solutions provider eWAN1, Inc. has announced that subscribers of the company's new Global Internet Television service will be able to access their local TV stations, plus EWAN's initial 75 channels of traditional broadcast television in 36 major languages. The service is scheduled to launch on 15 April.

The company also announced that among the languages being supported is Urdu, spoken in Afghanistan and parts of Iraq.

Ewan president Scott Kettle says, "Our ability to appeal to and accommodate the global customer is what will truly set Ewan's service offering apart from our would-be competitors. Our ability to offer our service in Urdu is particularly compelling in that it directly helps US efforts in both Iraq and Afghanistan. We are honoured to be able to contribute to the overall effort in providing the programming and medium that we hope will result in a lasting free and democratic society in these embattled parts of the Middle East."

As per the plan, Ewan will launch IPTV service on a global basis in the following languages: Urdu, Vietnamese, Ukrainian, Turkish, Thai, Tagalog, Swedish, Spanish, Slovak, Hebrew, Serbian, Russian, Romanian, Punjabi, Polish, Portuguese, Persian, Norwegian, Mandarin Chinese, Korean, Italian, German, Hindi, Greek, French, Finnish, English, Egyptian, Dutch, Danish, Czech, Cantonese, Bulgarian, Bengali, Armenian and Arabic, states an official release.

Ewan's set-top box includes Internet, telephone service (VOIP), data and video capability, and subscribers will be joining a new, private, exclusive TV network at a cost of approximately one-third of that now charged by existing cable or satellite companies.

Offering consumers 75 channels of "On Demand" content delivered to their television screens via any DSL or broadband connection Ewan in March will roll out the first of a projected 250,000 of its proprietary "Triple Play" set-top boxes to both the US and international consumers this year. The set-top box is pre-bundled with a monthly subscription for the channels of content and consumers will be able to order online and from local retail channels, the release adds.

Ewan's wholly owned subsidiary, Direct Connect, will provide traditional broadcast television including such popular programming as HBO, CNN, Showtime, ABC and ESPN, allowing subscribers to pick and choose only those channels they are willing to pay for.