Motorola Acquires Vertasent

Motorola has beefed up its video network platform with the acquisition of Vertasent LLC. Vertascent, a privately held firm in Colmar, Pa., develops software for content-on-demand and for IPTV to share resources and over a common infrastructure. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The Vertasent applications manage the elements in a switched digital video network with industry-standard interfaces and protocols, reducing the need for dedicated equipment.

Together with Motorola's existing on-demand hardware, the Vertasent system offers an open platform for expanding a program offering "to potentially include millions of live and on-demand titles," according to Motorola. It also allows migration to an all-digital network and streaming distribution.

"Vertasent will play a critical role in our technology strategy, by providing the software 'glue' that unifies the management of advanced services and the standards-based video components in the network," said Dan Moloney, president of Motorola Connected Home Solutions.

The Vertasent management team and employees are expected to remain based in Colmar and be integrated into the Motorola Connected Home Solutions business.