Hamburg, Germany and Shenzhen, PRC, December 3, 2020 – NetRange MMH GmbH (‘NetRange’), the global provider of white-labelled, turnkey Smart TV and OTT ecosystems, and itel, the global mobile phone brand, today announced that the NetRange VISNOS Smart TV app portal has been selected for itel’s new Smart TV range.

NetRange VISNOS is an innovative client-based solution that moves functionality to the cloud enabling an advanced Smart TV experience to be accessed and enjoyed by consumers with low end/ low CPU-powered digital and advanced televisions (DTV/ ATV) that wouldn’t otherwise be able to access connected services. VISNOS utilises the power of the cloud to enable Smart TV at a significantly reduced bill of materials (BOM) cost to the manufacturer and without the need to integrate a browser, making Smart TVs affordable to many viewers for the first time.

VISNOS enables smart TV features in many low-CPU itel devices for the very first time

“itel’s new Smart TV range is exciting news for viewers who will be able to access a whole range of new content in a budget-friendly way,” says Frank Gao, Director of Contents and IOT Dept., itel. “With a footprint in India, Vietnam and many other territories in the APAC and African regions, itel’s new Smart TV range powered by NetRange VISNOS has the potential to transform the viewing experience for millions of users.”

“The Smart TV market is the fastest growing segment of television but cost can be a barrier to many consumers,” says Tim Schröder, CEO, NetRange. “The partnership between NetRange VISNOS and itel successfully overcomes that challenge. Best of all, VISNOS comes pre-loaded with popular local content so viewers don’t have to take out costly ongoing subscriptions to access some of the best content apps, featuring VOD, games, sports, news and other linear channels.”

NetRange automatically provides access to localized content in each market, be it India, Vietnam or across Africa, and its partnerships cover top popular and affordable local content requests from itel customers in these countries. NetRange is partnered with many regional Local King apps, including Hungama, Eros Now, Toon Goggles and Epic TV. itel also benefits from NetRange’s local market knowledge and dedication, with daily support and rapid response from a Chinese project manager, backed up by a German R&D centre with engineers continually controlling product quality and stability.

The NetRange VISNOS platform removes the requirement for a browser in the TV, a major element of the integration effort and incremental cost for CE device manufacturers building Smart TVs for the most price-sensitive regions. VISNOS also supports the casting of YouTube from mobile devices to the TV, and NetRange will add to the services that can be cast to the TV.

Tim Schröder concluded: “NetRange’s innovative VISNOS uses the cloud to solve many of the headaches in delivering content and apps across the APAC and African regions, delivering a unique one-stop-shop for content providers and TV manufacturers and ensuring that Smart TV continues to be the fastest growing TV segment.”

About Itel
itel is an entry level and reliable mobile brand for everyone. Adopting “Enjoy Better Life” as its brand philosophy, itel’s mission is to provide budget-friendly mobile communications technology to everyone. It democratizes technology by giving entry to technology and connectivity to consumers without prior access to it, allowing them to get closer and benefit from their social connections. itel has a product portfolio of smartphones, tablets and feature phones. After years of  development, itel has expanded its presence in more than 50 emerging markets globally. For more information, please visit: http://itel-mobile.com

About NetRange
NetRange, an ACCESS CO., LTD. company (Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section Index, 4813), is a leading pioneer of Smart TV and a global provider of white labelled, turnkey Smart TV and OTT ecosystems and app stores.

NetRange operates an integrated, full-service solution which includes UI design, payment, billing and customer management, content aggregation, backend services including global CDN, second level support and app development for more than 100 global CE, TV, STB, retailer and operator brands, including Vodafone, Grundig, Arçelik, TCL, Skyworth, Sharp, Loewe, Changhong, IKEA, MSH, Thomson HD+. Its fully featured Smart TV Appstore includes local and global premium VoD stores, linear TV channels via IP, cloud games, live sports, music and lifestyle apps. It makes media content available for TV users in over 100 countries around the world.

In addition, NetRange also leverages its content relationships and broadcast technology expertise to provide OS.CAR, a connected car infotainment platform and VISNOS, a client-based Smart TV OS that significantly reduces the BOM cost for TV manufacturers through enabling a full Smart TV through devices with low-powered CPUs.