In order to compete with over-the-top (OTT) providers, pay-TV operators are rolling out TV Everywhere (TVE) services. In fact, a recent ABI Research report, titled “OTT and Multi-screen Services Research Service,” states that close to one in three U.S. households that subscribe to telco TV are predicted to access TVE services by the end of this year.

However, operators are finding themselves in a dual-network conundrum, using their managed networks to deliver content to users’ televisions and an unmanaged third-party broadband connection to distribute content to users’ mobile devices. Because of this, operators are struggling to offer the same quality content and service to users’ IP- connected mobile devices.

In order to bridge the gap between broadcast and Internet Protocol (IP) video distribution, many pay-TV operators are turning to multimedia home gateways (MHGs). In fact, MHG shipments are set to climb to 9.6 million units in 2015 and 2016, up from just 90,000 in 2011, according to an IHS Screen Digest report titled “Multimedia Home Gateways: The Future of the Digital Home.”

“A decade ago, set-top boxes served as the bridge from analog to digital broadcasting,” said Daniel Simmons, senior principal analyst at IHS and lead author of the report. “Today, MHGs are playing a similar role, acting as the bridge between broadcast and Internet Protocol (IP) video distribution.”

With MHGs, operators are able to consolidate content delivery around their managed networks regardless of the viewing device, giving users’ a seamless pay-TV experience across every screen in their home.

“The capabilities of the MHG, and in particular its requirement to establish a ubiquitous whole home network, position pay-TV operators to offer a range on additional services that could elevate them above being simple purveyors of media access. Home automation and security, as well as smart energy and e-health services, all could be supported by the MHG and offer additional revenue opportunities,” added Simmons.

How about your billing and provisioning platform?  Are they ready for the challenge?  GLDS spent the last 18 months building into our platforms a super-device that allows operators to create a single chassis, with an unlimited number of functional devices, each with their own provisioning stream.  That means that no matter what the future of equipment looks like, and no matter who’s responsible for delivering service over it, GLDS’ systems are ready to help you get it into your networks, and out to your customers.