The largest telecom operator in Georgia, SkyTel, chooses inext media players

The inext team has successfully completed a media project of developing software and an exclusive set-top box for SkyTel, a telecommunications operator from Georgia.

The Ukrainian media player developers — the inext company — announced the successful completion of a project for the Georgian telecommunications company SkyTel. The new TV5 SkyTel media player received individual software (firmware) and full branding of the device, interface and packaging.

At the first stage of the project, the operator ordered more than a thousand TV5 SkyTel set-top boxes for its internet network, which is considered the largest in Georgia. The new set-top boxes will be controlled via the proprietary Alcatraz service — this will help SkyTel create a unified monitoring system for media devices in its network.

At the beginning of 2022, the SkyTel company turned to ROMSAT — the official distributor of inext — with a request to develop an exclusive media player. The technical task consisted of several items: the development of a new device and the software modification of existing media players to bring both types of devices to a single standard and control system. As practice shows, few media player suppliers are interested in additional software development and branding. So, the inext team developed a media player for SkyTel based on the popular inext TV5 model with completely individual branding and software. Devices from another supplier, which were already on SkyTel's balance but were not used due to the lack of flexible software, were studied in detail by inext specialists, who developed unified firmware and added the possibility of remote OTA updates. Both types of media players are now controlled via the proprietary Alcatraz service.

"This is not the first time a large operator has turned to us with a request to help with existing software development projects and devices that are already available," comments Maksym Shchygol, inext Product Manager at the ROMSAT company, on the project. "The media player is a rather specific product that does not work straight out of the box for B2B clients. This product requires individual firmware that takes the specifics of the customer's business into account. The professionalism of colleagues from SkyTel and the inext team made it possible to implement a rather ambitious project and complete the portfolio with a successful case in the form of the new SkyTel TV5 device."

As part of the project, a set of improvements was implemented for SkyTel:

Replaced logo at startup;

Integrated inext launcher;

Removed the ability to install third-party applications;

Autostart of the operator's application;

Removed all applications and services, except for YouTube and SkyTel;

Deactivated USB and microSD/TF ports;

Activated access to the Alcatraz service.

Individual timer

It is worth noting the introduction of the unique "Individual timer" feature: after three hours of operation without any request to the box (idle), a 60-second countdown appears on the screen, leading to the system turning off the set-top box. The user can cancel the automatic shutdown by pressing any button on the remote control. The individual timer helped lessen the load on the operator's network and significantly save traffic. As far as we know, this is the first such implementation among operators.

Restriction of configuration rights

At the operator's request, the settings menu was revised and the ability to install applications from the Google Play Market or the file manager was limited. Thanks to this update, SkyTel received a customized media player intended exclusively for viewing operator content, which had a positive effect on attracting new customers and retaining existing ones.

Feedback from operator SkyTel (Georgia)

"While already being a leader in the telecommunications sector of Georgia, innovation and technological progress are an integral part of our development strategy. It makes it possible to position SkyTel as a powerful player in the market of telecom services," shares Mikheil Menabde, IT Project Manager of SkyTel, his impressions of the project. "That is why we chose inext media players, since behind them there is a team of experienced professionals with extensive experience in implementing projects for communication operators from around the world."

About SkyTel

SkyTel LLC is a leading telecommunications operator with extensive experience in the field of telecommunications, one of the three largest companies in Georgia (according to the GNCC — Georgian National Communications Commission). Official site: https://skytel.ge

About inext

inext LLC is a Ukrainian company with an EU representation that specializes in software development and production of Android STBs and media players for B2B and B2C markets. inext specialists perform complex projects from IPTV/OTT to modern multimedia systems in urban transport networks, as well as advertising and informational multi-screen platforms.

Read more about inext's projects:

Prolific cooperation of inext and SWEET.TV

inext TV-X – new generation of set-top boxes for Kyivstar