The partnership will extend video transport services coverage in Europe, Africa and Middle East

Sparkle, the international service arm of TIM Group and among top 10 global operators, and Aldea Solutions Inc., a leading global service provider for the television and media industries, announced today at ITW in Chicago an agreement to extend media services in the EMEA region.

As a result of this partnership, media companies in Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa regions will benefit from Sparkle’s extensive fiber network and from Aldea’s comprehensive portfolio of services for the transmission, distribution and management of video content.

Sparkle owns and operates one of the largest and most technologically advanced global fiber networks spanning 560,000 km. Through its open ecosystem and rich marketplace Sicily Hub, located in Palermo, Sparkle provides customers located in Africa, the Mediterranean and the Middle East with the lowest latency compared to any other European peering point.

Aldea is best known for its deep rooted experience delivering high quality, ultra-low latency and reliable video services for the transmission of live sports, news and other media events over fiber networks. Aldea’s expertise in the delivery of video managed solutions that has been demonstrated repeatedly in major global events such as the Olympics and FIFA World Cup.

Through this agreement Aldea will extend its video service capabilities into these new regions and provide  customers direct access to Aldea’s existing video network in 20 countries in the Americas and Western Europe. Together, Sparkle and Aldea will provide support for all the latest video formats, encoding standards, as well as streaming and distribution to multichannel integrated platforms (DTT, DTH, OTT).

“We look forward to the results of our collaboration with Aldea as this partnership will greatly benefit our customers requiring global solutions, making our Sicily hub in Palermo the premier platform in the region for the exchange of global media” says Alessandro Talotta, Chairman & CEO at Sparkle.

“We are enthusiastic about this new partnership with Sparkle, we believe it will not only provide material gains to our customers but also allow Aldea to continue to extend its world-class media solutions to new parts of the world in tandem with the great assets and know-how brought forth by Sparkle”, says Lionel Bentolila, CEO at Aldea.

About Sparkle

Sparkle is the wholly owned subsidiary of TIM Group (NYSE:TI) with the mission to develop and consolidate the Italian telco’s international services business.  As a leading global carrier and through a global backbone of around 560.000 km of fiber, Sparkle offers a full range of IP, Data, Cloud, Data Center, Mobile Data and Voice solutions to fixed and mobile operators, Internet service providers, Media and Content providers and to Multinational enterprises. Its sales force is active worldwide and distributed over 37 countries.

Find out more about Telecom Italia Sparkle at www.tisparkle.com or www.world.tisparkle.com

About Aldea (www.aldea.tv)

Aldea Solutions Inc. is a leading provider of high quality video services and solutions for the television and media industries. The Company provides end-to-end worldwide transmission and content distribution services and operates an extensive fibre-based network with points-of-service in major cities throughout the Americas and international extensions in Europe. The Aldea video network covers 29 cities and 20 countries: Miami, New York, Washington D.C, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Orlando (USA), Toronto, Montreal (Canada), Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey (Mexico), Lima (Peru), Caracas (Venezuela), Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo (Brazil), Santiago (Chile), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Bogota (Colombia), Panama City (Panama), Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), Guayaquil (Ecuador), Tegucigalpa (Honduras), Guatemala City (Guatemala), Montevideo (Uruguay), Paris (France), London (UK), Madrid (Spain), Lisbon (Portugal) and Stockholm (Sweden). Aldea is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Marcatel Group.

Learn more about Aldea at www.aldea.tv

For further information, please contact:

 Sparkle Media Contact:
Filippo Sanpaolesi
Head of Communication
+390652745037
[email protected]

Aldea Solutions Inc:
Larry Tonon, Marketing Manager
Tel: (514) 461 4136 x 3025
Fax: (514) 344-5439
[email protected]