Espial Group’s Tele Columbus trial an important step, says Cantor Fitzgerald Canada

Cantor Fitzgerald Canada analyst Ralph Garcea says Espial Group’s (Espial Stock Quote, Chart, News: TSX:ESP) field trial with German cable network operator Tele Columbus is an important step in winning future business.

This morning, Tele Columbus and Espial jointly announced results from the ongoing field trial of Tele Columbus’s next-generation, 4K-ultrahigh-definition-ready video service, known as Advanced TV, and based on key Espial video solutions that were integrated by the Ottawa-based company.

The companies said the trial, which was conducted in select households in Germany, was an “unqualified success”, with high approval ratings from customers.

“Given the highly competitive video environment in Germany and worldwide, Tele Columbus has seized the initiative by creating and launching a new set of advanced Internet protocol video services that their viewers love,” said Espial CEO Jaison Dolvane. “We’re proud to help Tele Columbus transfor their business through our industry-leading software solutions and elite systems integration services.”

Garcea says the trial is a validation of Espial’s technology that may prove important in securing future customers.

“This Advanced TV trial was successfully delivered in a matter of months, in Germany -an especially competitive video environment. We view this as an acknowledgement of the robustness of ESP’s systems and IP and expect other service providers to follow suit. Tele Columbus has a very strong footprint in Germany, and should be a great reference site for potential European customers.”

In a research update to clients today, Garcea maintained his “Buy” rating and one-year price target of $4.50 on Espial, implying a return of 146 per cent at the time of publication.

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