Little Rock, Ark.-based telecom Windstream has partnered with OTT vendor MobiTV to launch a new technology backbone for its Kinetic TV service.

The new app-based MobiTV Connect-based platform will be a “direct replacement” for the legacy Kinetic TV underpinnings, Geoff Levy, senior VP of marketing for Windstream, told Telecompetitor.

Levy described MobiTV as a “much better platform” compared to the previous Ericsson solution, noting that it “allows for a cloud DVR.” UHD/4K and voice control will also be enabled.

Related: MobiTV Lines Up Programmers for New Video Streaming Platform

The service, Levy noted, “will have the same channel lineup and the prices will be the same.”

The MobiTV Connect service is IP-based and delivered over the operator client’s managed network. 

Users will be able to access the service via Android- and iOS-powered mobile devices, as well as Amazon Fire TV OTT hardware and Android TV-powered smart TVs. Users will also have the option of leasing for $6 a month a set-top from Windstream based on the Android TV operator tier platform.

The new service will launch in Windstream’s North Georgia footprint, followed by Lincoln, Nebraska. Kinetic TV is expected to be available across eight additional markets this year, the company said. Windstream offers Kinetic-branded internet services in 18 states.

Windstream said it will continue to support customers who want to keep using Mediaroom services delivered over IPTV or cable TV network infrastructure, but those offerings will no longer be available to new customers.

Windstream said it has moved ahead with the launch of its IP-delivered Kinetic TV service in Sugar Land, Texas, where it faces off with incumbent MSO Comcast.

Windstream, which offers the service there to more than 30,000 homes in there, announced plans to launch the service to the affluent Houston suburb back in February.

Windstream’s pay TV service runs on a fiber-based network using Arris-made wireless whole-home HD-DVRs powered by Ericsson Mediaroom, the IPTV middleware platform that  Ericsson acquired from Microsoft in 2013.

Windstream has also launched Kinetic TV in Lincoln, Neb.; and Lexington, Ky., where it competes with Time Warner Cable.

Windstream is bundling Kinetic TV with its high-speed and telephone services, or offering it as a standalone starting at $39.99 per month.

Among the service combos, “Bundle 1” ties different TV tiers with a 25 Mbps Internet service for prices starting at $59.98 (with a “Basic” TV) package, while the triple-play, also with a 25-Meg broadband offering, starts at $64.98 per month. Pricing on its “Select” and “Preferred” TV bundles require a 12-month agreement.

Windstream also offers a 1-Gig broadband service in Sugar Land.

Windstream has announced plans to  launch Kinetic TV, its new IP-based TV service, to more than 30,000 homes in Sugar Land, Texas, where it will tangle with incumbent cable operator Comcast.

Windstream plans to launch the service in the affluent Houston suburb  in the second quarter, following up on earlier Kinetic TV launches in two Time Warner Cable markets: Lincoln, Neb.; and Lexington, Ky.

Running on a fiber-based network, Kinetic TV is powered by Ericsson Mediaroom and an Arris-made wireless whole-home HD-DVR.

Windstream also bundles Dish Network service with its high-speed Internet offerings.