Access 1 signs Big Pond deal

WA success story Access1 will provide AccessTV content to Telstra Big Pond under a recently announced umbrella agreement.

The agreement gives Access1 the biggest broadband customer base in Australia, as Telstra recently announced it had close to 40,000 Big Pond Advance users on its broadband networks.

Access1 chairman David Spence said the agreement recognised both Access1’s ability to aggregate broadband content and Telstra’s success in acquiring broadband customers.

“The distribution agreement gives Telstra the right to stream all of Access1’s broadband content through its networks,” Mr Spence said.

Depending on future negotiations, the agreement will allow Telstra Big Pond Advance users to view Access1’s specialty channels from its broadband portal.

“Not only are we delivering ‘TV-like’ channels of content – we are creating a new market for the delivery of full-motion interactive advertising, where advertising can be served to individual users or demographics,” he said.

“Access1’s broadband content will be available on Telstra’s new DSL technology being deployed nationally this month.”

Industry sources said Access1 represented the next generation of service providers, creating a multimedia service with high speed Internet browsing, data downloads and delivery of full-screen TV-quality services directly to computers.

“This agreement is the first step in a plan to deliver the range of Access1’s multimedia services across all networks – regardless of the technology employed – as well as on the Access1 satellite network currently being rolled out nationally.”