AUGUST 27, 2020 12.46 EUROPE/LONDON BY JULIAN CLOVER

Forsway and AiStream have created a new OTT-in-a-box multicast bundle aimed at reaching rural areas where traditional fixed line and mobile connectivity fails.

The bundle brings together AiStream Community Media Hub’s “edge” technology and Forsway’s hybrid Odin F-50 satellite broadband router.

It’s designed to provide access to community services, education, health, business possibilities, as well as entertainment. “3 billion people around the globe still cannot access reliable internet services or content due to infrastructure deficiencies,” says Tobias Forsell, CEO at Forsway.

The AiStream content and payments hub plug-and-play hotspot is bundled with Forsway’s Odin F-50 satellite router to deliver a local wi-fi service.

“A community can access information and content at time of need irrespective of the affordability or presence of broadband infrastructure, says Peter Abbott, COO at AiStream. Opening these new digital markets provides major revenue opportunities for content partners and advertisers alike to reach previously unconnected eyeballs and audiences.”

The premise of the partnership is to enable deployment of SVOD services-at-scale for service providers without the requirement of a fixed or mobile network infrastructure.