TANDBERG Television provides the video compression solution through the E5710 MPEG-2 Encoder and the TT1260 MPEG-2 Decoder. The E5710 and TT1260 are both equipped with built-in Fast Ethernet video interfaces.

The NERA wireless core consists of the InterLink and CityLink deployed in a ring structure. This offers reliable and cost-effecitve wireless interconnection. The NERA SmartNode C converts between SONET/SDH and Gigabit Ethernet as well as SONET/SDH ring protection.

Layer-3 IP routers are deployed at each site. OSPF and PIM Sparse-Mode are enabled as the routing protocols of choice.

The quality of the TV multicasts are continuously monitored by the monitoring architecture from BRIDGE Technologies. BRIDGETECH VB100 IP Probes are deployed at each node offering continuous surveillance of video-critical network parameters such as packet jitter and packet loss. The BRIDGETECH VBC server solution is deployed centrally at Skopje and offers alarm aggregation and measurement correlation.

Having deployed the solution MRT now benefits from the following advantages:

• A rapid deployment process. By deploying wireless radio links the roll-out time was counted in months as opposed to years as is often the case with traditional fiber infrastructure.
• A cost-effective solution. The NERA InterLink can transfer up to 16xSTM1 over distances of up to 100 km. This compares very favorably to the cost of deploying fiber cables. This is especially the case with mountain terrain or in metropolitan areas where deploying fiber is often not an option.
• A future proof solution. By deploying the NERA wireless IP core the operator can rest assured that he has a network capable of carrying services today and tomorrow. The IP-based architecture ensures a flexible and versatile network. Some of the services possible are: Transport of television signals to transmitter towers (Analog or DTT), feeding cellular base stations, trunk transport of Internet traffic, Voice-over-IP, IPTV multicast distribution.
• Robustness. A core network based on wireless links is often less prone to long service outages due to fiber cuts simply because there is no fiber to cut. When wireless outages occur they are often of shorter durations - a few seconds typically – due to fading or objects inadvertently crossing the radio beam.
• Redundancy. The NERA wireless IP core architecture relies on deploying ring patterns of radio links for automatic redundancy and fail-over switching. Fail-over switching times in the order of 100 milliseconds are achievable using SDH/SONET ring protection.
• Expandability. The capacity of the NERA Evolution series can easily be upgraded from 155 Mbit/s   (STM-1) up to 16x STM-1 in convenient steps of 155Mbit/s after the network has been deployed.
• Best-of-breed compression solution. The TANDBERG Television E5710 Encoder and TT1260 Decoder offers world-class video quality.
• A proactive monitoring solution through the unique BRIDGE Technologies TV multicast monitoring architecture.

Frode Vindenes, Business Development IP Broadcast, NERA Networks A/S:
“We are very pleased to have integrated and delivered a complete national television distribution system for the nation of Macedonia. The IPTV monitoring solution provided by BRIDGE Technologies has been invaluable in continuously safeguarding the IP video transport and ensuring the highest delivery quality”

Rolf Ollmar, CEO BRIDGE Technologies Co A/S:
“NERA is a world-class solution provider within the networking and broadcast industry. I can say it has been a  true joy working with them on designing and implementing this cutting-edge solution.”