Later this year German cable network operator ish will be offering up to 50 additional channels and near-video-on-demand (NVOD) in a digital cable launch in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany. To make this possible ish will drive the development of digital television over a portion of its recently upgraded network with Scientific-Atlanta's DVB-compliant EyeQ interactive headend system, PowerKEY conditional access and, initially, 10,000 Explorer 100DVB digital set-tops.

The cable operator also aims to work together with the operators of other cable systems in other regions in Germany to provide a national solution for digital TV from next year onwards. An official release informs that in selecting the platform needed to receive digital television, ish placed particular emphasis on time-to-market and flexibility. Ish has stated that the strength of Scientific-Atlanta's system and integration services will enable it to remain flexible and innovative to meet the evolving customer needs.

As part of the overall system solution, a custom user interface featuring an electronic programme guide (EPG) will give viewers a convenient overview of the variety of channels offered on their TV sets. The user interface will be designed to support multiple applications and services in the future.

Scientific-Atlanta claims that its ability to respond through its local presence in Europe, coupled with its commitment to DVB and other open standards, gives cable operators ready access to country- and region-specific products, systems and support that can help them reach their business goals.