The Switch Announces Innovative FiveNines Service

NEW YORK—March 25, 2014—The Switch has jumped to the forefront of the Sports Broadcast industry with the introduction of its leading edge The Switch FiveNines Service, the first fully protected, venue-to-Master Control Room solution for High Definition Video and scalable Ethernet transport.

The service features dual and diverse points of entry, where possible, and redundant 10 Gbps pathways to and from more than 120 venues, rights holders and customer locations throughout the United States and Canada.  The Switch’s upgraded 20 Gbps backbone will carry the new service between its 44 interconnecting major metropolitan switching centers.

Designed and built specifically for the major sports leagues and their rights holders, The Switch FiveNines Service offers end-to-end protected service with 99.999% transport availability. 

Additional innovations of the service include seamless transport of Uncompressed and JPEG2000 HD, ASI, 3G and 4K capabilities, as well as Ethernet connections paired with on-site telephone and Internet connectivity. The Switch FiveNines Service is truly next generation.

 “The Switch FiveNines Service is an industry innovation,” said Scott Beers, President and CEO of The Switch.  “With end-to-end diversity inherent in this service offering, our customers are ultimately the big winners, receiving protected service without the expense of ordering a second path.”

The Switch FiveNines Service will begin implementation this summer in advance of the 2014/2015 NBA and NHL seasons. All services of The Switch are available on a scheduled or on-demand basis via The Switch’s customer control software SwitchIT, or by contacting The Switch’s Customer Service Center.