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DD :Panelists: IPTV to make huge economic impact
According to panelists at Deloitte & Touche's forum in New York City this week, IPTV and WiMAX are going to be "game changing" technologies likely to have a huge economic impact by 2009. The panelists included venture capitalists, R&D professionals, CEOs and reps from major tech companies. Interestingly, another conclusion emerging from the conference is that the set-top box may lose the market for IPTV. The InformationWeek article includes Internet TV and STB-enabled IPTV when it refers to IPTV, a trend that seems widespread now.
For more on the Deloitte conference:
- see this article from InformationWeek
DD : Microsoft IPTV enters France, Germany
Microsoft is set to enter the European market with deployments in Germany and France by the end of the summer. Germany's Deutsche Telekom is offering Microsoft IPTV via their Club Internet service in France--offering HDTV, dual show watching and 50-hour DVR capability. Current Club members can sign up as early as the end of the month and new members can subscribe come August. DT plans on bringing the service to Germany by the end of the summer, and the U.K.'s BT Group plans to do the same later this year. Last year, Switzerland took a look at Microsoft IPTV, but early tests proved the technology wasn't up to snuff.
DD : Franchise bill passes House, moves to Senate
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a telecom bill that would eliminate the need for telecom companies to get permission from every individual municipality to offer video services. The bill now goes to the Senate, where much of the debate is focused on a Net Neutrality amendment that the House threw out. Most experts say the franchise law is likely to pass in some form.
Critics of the franchise bill, mostly the cable television industry, say the bill will allow telecom companies to cherry-pick the wealthiest neighborhoods for its services and ignore the low-income neighborhoods. Local municipalities, reportedly, have done a good job of policing the cable operators and others on the cherry-picking front, and now they want a level playing field. The national law would put the FCC in charge of policing new entrants' potential cherry-picking maneuvers and industry pundits say the FCC isn't up to the challenge.
For more on the national franchise bill:
- read this article from US News & World Report
DD :Globecomm Gets $1.3 Million Contract
© 2006 The Associated Press
HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. — Satellite communications provider Globecomm Systems Inc. said Monday it received a contract worth $1.3 million to build out Internet protocol TV infrastructure that enables delivery of IP video services.
The company did not say who awarded the contract. Globecomm's customers range from the United Nations to the communications ministry of Afghanistan to communications carriers.
"Telecom companies are pushing IP-based video to the top of their next-generation service agendas," said David Hershberg, chairman and chief executive, in a statement.
"IPTV infrastructure build-out is being accelerated by competition from the cable industry, which is successfully eroding the telecom operators voice subscriber base with multi-service offerings of their own," he added.
Shares of the company rose 10 cents to $7.28 in midday trading on the Nasdaq.
DD :China Netcom in talks to sell subsidiary
China Netcom Group Corp (Hong Kong) Ltd, the smaller of two mainland fixed-line telephone firms, confirmed yesterday that it was in talks to sell stakes of its wholly owned subsidiary Asia Netcom.
"Selling (Asia Netcom) is one of the options that we have to lower the company's operating cost," said Zhang Chunjiang, chairman of China Netcom, yesterday.
"We are currently under discussion with a few companies that have interest in buying Asia Netcom," Zhang said, without giving any further details.
Before Zhang's confirmation of his company's plan to sell Asia Netcom, there was a lot of buzz in the local market that General Enterprise Management Services (GEMS), a group led by Simon Murray, former head of Hong Kong ports-to-telecoms conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa, was the most likely buyer to reach the deal with China Netcom.
If the deal is finalized between the two companies, GEMS will pay China Netcom HK$2.73 billion (US$350 million) to buy Asia Netcom.
Asia Netcom, which operates undersea phone cables, is primarily the firm formerly known as Asia Global Crossing, that China Netcom bought out of insolvency for US$120 million plus the assumption of unspecified liabilities in 2003.
Zhang told reporters yesterday that China Netcom is in talks with China Central Television (CCTV) about co-operation on the Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) market.
"Our discussion about the possible co-operation with IPTV licence holders such as CCTV is under way," Zhang said. "We will see how appropriate we are for each other before we finally reach a partnership."
IPTV is a system where a digital television service is delivered to subscribers using an Internet protocol over a broadband connection.
The State Administration of Radio Film and Television issued the second IPTV licence to CCTV this month to further strengthen IPTV's recognition and influence in the local market. Last May it issued the first IPTV licence to Shanghai Media Group.
Zhang also said that China Netcom would not cut rates for Little Smart, or the personal hand phone system in Beijing, despite rival China Mobile's recent reduction of mobile charges in the city. Analysts said it would pressure carriers such as China Netcom.
"We have not seen any impact on the company from the price reduction (by China Mobile) and so far we have no plan to cut our rates for Little Smart," said Zhang.
China Netcom's fixed-line telephone subscribers continued to grow to 118 million in the first quarter, an increase of 2.711 million quarter-on-quarter. Its broadband subscribers also reached 12.56 million, 9.5 per cent up on a quarterly basis.
China Netcom's Hong Kong shares fell by 2.75 per cent to close at HK$14.1 (US$1.8) yesterday.
Source: China Daily
DD :German telco steals DT's IPTV thunder
German service provider HanseNet launched its IPTV service this week, beating out its fierce rival Deutsche Telekom. DT has been pushing to get its IPTV service up and running before the country hosts the World Cup a month from now, but it looks as if the incumbent will have to settle for a mid-June launch now. HanseNet's IPTV service, called Alice homeTV, launched in Hamburg with launches in 14 other markets to follow in the weeks ahead. Subscribers pay $12.70 a month in addition to their broadband connection fees for Alice homeTV. The basic IPTV service includes 100 channels with 600 on demand movies available. Additional specialized pay-TV are also available to its 660,000 broadband subscribers. The service provider has vendor agreements with Harmonic, Nagravision, Advanced Digital Broadcast and Alcatel.
DD:McCain to Propose Incentives for Cable Firms to Offer a la Carte Pricing
By Jim Puzzanghera, Times Staff Writer
May 17, 2006
WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) plans to introduce legislation as early as today that would offer incentives for cable TV providers and network owners to allow viewers to pay for only the channels they want to receive.
McCain will offer a "bucket of goodies" to offset strong industry opposition to a la carte pricing, according to an aide, who spoke anonymously because the bill was not finished. The legislation would apply only to digital cable and would not force anyone to provide channels on an a la carte basis.
McCain's bill has been anticipated for weeks, and his aide said it would be introduced before Congress leaves for the Memorial Day recess at the end of next week. The senator plans to try to attach the legislation to a major telecommunications bill that the Commerce Committee will vote on early next month.
For cable companies, McCain would offer an unspecified reduction in the 5% maximum local franchise fee they pay to cities and towns for the right to offer TV service. For networks that have resisted unbundling their channels, he would extend some undisclosed Federal Communications Commission rules that would benefit programmers. For phone companies eager to offer TV service, the bill would give those agreeing to a la carte pricing a national franchise system so they'd no longer need to petition every community they want to serve.
But the National Cable & Telecommunications Assn. would oppose such legislation, spokesman Brian Dietz said.
"It is completely unnecessary for the federal government to disrupt a competitive marketplace and engage in the pricing and packaging of video services," he said. Cable operators have promised to offer family-friendly packages but say a la carte pricing would increase rates and limit diversity by forcing some niche channels off the air.
Family advocates such as the Parents Television Council favor a la carte pricing because it would allow consumers to avoid objectionable programming. The FCC issued a report in February that said consumers could save as much as 13% with a la carte pricing.
In a statement, FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin said he had not seen the bill but was "supportive of increasing cable competition and choice for consumers and removing regulations that keep potential competitors out of the video business."
DD :Unique IPTV Set-top Box from Visioneering Corporation
NewswireToday - /newswire/ - Carlsbad, CA, United States, 05/11/2006 - Visioneering Corporation, a leading developer and supplier of digital media technologies announced today the availability of the Sonata IPTV Plus set-top box for unmatched high definition or standard definition IPTV at an affordable price.
“The Sonata IPTV Plus delivers the latest in state-of-the-art video compression and video enhancement for IPTV and triple-play applications.” said Peter Guest, Visioneering CEO. “The convergence of voice, data and video allows for Video On Demand (VOD) functionality in a very cost-effective set-top box solution that supports the most advanced open standard video codecs such as H.264 (MPEG-4 Part 10) and Media 9.” Mr. Guest continued, “In addition, we included a unique image enhancement technology that delivers crystal clear image quality that dramatically improves either standard definition or high definition video. Visioneering has combined all these elements into the Sonata IPTV™ Plus.”
“Using Texas Instruments’ DaVinci technology, Visioneering has been able to provide next generation IPTV performance.” Stated Robert Wallin, CTO for Visioneering. “The Sonata IPTV™ Plus delivers Windows Media Video (VC-1), AVC, MPEG-4 part 10 video to increase decoding efficiency providing higher quality video and delivers 50-70 percent improvement in bit rate transmission.” “This enables a much more cost effective solution for IPTV service providers.”
The Sonata IPTV™ Plus set-top box provides leading edge functionality for interactive TV, including:
- NTSC/PAL or High Definition (up to 1080i) resolution.
- H.264 (MPEG-4 part 10), Media 9 or MPEG-2 video compression.
- 80GB DVR (optional 120GB, 300GB or 500GB).
- Interactive Graphical User Interface (GUI) for easy set-up and browsing.
- Works over any broadband IP network.
- Unique image enhancement technology for unmatched video clarity.
- Small form factor – fits in the palm of your hand.
- Cost effective IPTV solution
Agency / Source: Visioneering Corporation
DD :Verizon's FiOS TV Tests "Community Studio" Model
Verizon is developing a new pilot program called "Community Studio" that will feature on demand content of interest to diverse viewers. The Community Studio concept emerged in discussions between Verizon and more than 35 civil rights leaders.
Slated to begin in the second quarter of 2006, Community Studio will offer viewers a library of public interest and civil rights content each month. Customers will use Verizon's video-on-demand (VOD) service to watch Community Studio programs.
Initial partners in Verizon's Community Studio venture are the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, National Hispanic Media Coalition, American Association for People with Disabilities, Black Leadership Forum and U.S. Distance Learning Association.
TVN Entertainment will provide a number of hours of encoding, asset management and distribution services to the public interest organizations as part of the project. VN is Verizon's VOD service provider and furnishes the backend support, transport and advanced element management tools for Verizon's VOD offering.
Placement of content will be at the discretion of Verizon, which will provide this pilot service free to participating national organizations.
http://www.verizon.com
04-May-06
DD :AT&T Announces Second Web Video Distribution Partnership -- TotalVid
AT&T agreed to offer TotalVid's online library of more than 2,600 entertainment and instructional video titles to AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet and AT&T Worldnet subscribers. TotalVid currently offers thousands of online videos from more than 350 content providers. AT&T said the deal focuses on creating new revenue streams from its DSL Internet customer base and offering differentiated broadband-related services.
Through the agreement, broadband users will have access to the complete TotalVid library, featuring on-demand access to full-length videos in categories such as action sports, anime, cooking, fitness, home improvement, martial arts instruction, music, sports and travel. The agreement will feature a co-branded AT&T and TotalVid Web site, att.totalvid.com, and offers AT&T customers unlimited video downloads during a seven-day free trial. Afterwards, TotalVid's monthly subscription costs $9.95 a month and includes unlimited downloads. Alternatively, customers can also download individual videos for $1.99 and up.
http://www.att.com
http://www.totalvid.com
04-May-06
Last month, AT&T reached an agreement with Starz Entertainment Group to offer the "Vongo" Internet movie-delivery service to its DSL customers. The deal marks the first such broadband distribution agreement for Vongo and also serves as an example of a differentiated broadband media service supported by AT&T.
The companies will feature a co-branded AT&T and Vongo Web site and special promotions. TotalVid is a wholly owned subsidiary of Landmark Communications, which also owns The Weather Channel, Q Interactive and a variety of other media businesses. TotalVid other partners include Akimbo, AOL, Blinkx, Comcast, D-Link, DaveTV, Microsoft Windows Media (MSFT), ThePlatform, W-Cities, Weather.com and Yahoo! TotalVid is based in Norfolk, Virginia.
DD:IPTV Content Strategies Profiled in New MRG Report
May 11, 2006 09:27 AM
Related Entries: IPTV Reports
The new Winning IP TV Content Strategies Report 2006 from MRG, Inc. analyzes the step-by-step process of creating differentiated local IPTV (IP TV) services in widely varied global markets. "The markets in Europe and Asia differ considerably from those in the US," states Bob Larribeau, IPTV Program Director for MRG, "because US cable has already built up on-demand and interactive services and 2-way capabilities in most of their networks. This is not true in China, Europe and much of the Rest of the World."
The content strategies for addressing markets dominated by cable and satellite must be stronger than in markets dominated by free-to-air. The report illustrates the kind of success that can be achieved with a strong content offering that does not require forced buy-through common in cable markets. New services such as NPVR, VOD (Video on Demand), and games are important ways that IP TV operators are differentiating themselves from cable and satellite companies; while some operators are providing VOD content in (low cost) linear form as a starter-service to get people used to the new content.
The report also analyzes other advanced services including premium programming in a SVOD (Subscription VOD) format; sports as a means to "prime the market," and tiered and ala-carte services. Internet video (video on the Internet) is also explored as both a competitor and a source of content for IPTV operators, since Yahoo, Google, and others are working to capture the TV market. One positive outcome of this debate is that content providers are awakening to different distribution strategies that should improve the position of IPTV.
Profiles of consultants and aggregators (IBM, LVN, and others) and content owners are also included to aid IPTV operators.
The report also profiles the strategies of regional IPTV leaders like PCCW and City Telecom (Hong Kong); KDDI, NTT, Verizon, FastWeb, Free, Neuf, France Telecom, SureWest, Manitoba Telecom, Video Systems Ltd (London), and others spanning Europe, Asia, North America and emerging markets.
The (81-page) Winning IP TV Content Strategies Report-May 2006 is available in printed form for $1,995.00US; as a Departmental PDF license for $2,995.00US; and is free as part of MRG's IPTV Tracking Service. For more information or to order the report, contact Rob Smith at 408-524-9767 or rsmith@mrgco.com, or visit www.mrgco.com.
DD :Worldwide Telecom/Datacom Equipment Hit $107.9B in 2005, Will Grow to $143.5B in 2009
May 12, 2006 05:08 AM
Related Entries: IPTV Reports
Worldwide total telecom and datacom equipment revenue totaled $107.9 billion in 2005 and will grow 33% to $143.5 billion in 2009, according to a new market share and forecast report by Infonetics Research, Telecom/Datacom Equipment.
Wireless broadband and mobile radio access equipment makes up the largest portion of revenue, but the expected increase is fueled by phenomenal growth in service provider next gen voice equipment and broadband aggregation and IPTV equipment. Wireless LAN equipment sales are surging as well, but represent a small market overall.
"Three major trends are driving the growth we're seeing in the telecom and datacom market: People worldwide are communicating over networks and the Internet via broadband. Carriers are moving to a single converged data network incorporating voice and video along with traditional data. And mobile and fixed wireline networks of data, voice, and video are converging. With all of these changes come increased security concerns, both in carrier and enterprise networks, and all have long-term implications on spending that keep growth in the market relatively high through 2009," said Jeff Wilson, principal analyst at Infonetics Research.
Report Highlights
The service provider next gen voice and IMS market represents 2% of the total telecom/datacom market now, doubling to 4% in 2009, driven by the move to IMS and by fixed-mobile convergence
The IPTV equipment market has a stunning compound annual growth rate of 99% from 2005 to 2009
Wireless broadband and mobile radio access equipment will slow in 2006 as historically strong spending in GSM/CDMA shifts over to spending on 3G equipment worldwide
Cisco is the revenue-leading vendor by far in worldwide telecom/datacom equipment market share, with 19%
Nortel is second and Huawei is third, followed closely by fourth-place Alcatel and fifth-place Siemens
Infonetics' report compiles market size, market share, and forecast data for all market segments they cover to provide a big picture of the health of the market worldwide, including the overall contribution of revenue by major product categories, geographic distribution of telecom/datacom equipment revenue, and leading vendors.
DD :HanseNet selects Alcatel for its "Alice" Triple Play Services in Germany
May 12, 2006 05:37 AM
Related Entries: Europe IPTV
HanseNet Telekommunikation GmbH, a subsidiary of Telecom Italia and one of Germany's leading service providers, has selected Alcatel as its exclusive technology partner for the delivery of triple play services, including telephone, Internet access and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) for the new product Alice homeTV.
DD :Movisat Networks Announced New Internet TV Service to Latin American Audience
May 12, 2006 08:44 AM
Related Entries: Internet TV
Movisat Networks has announced a new television service provided 24/7 through broadband Internet to the Latin American audience commercial-free.
Movisat Networks is available through a monthly subscription to viewers who have a broadband Internet access provider, and a free trial is offered to give viewers an opportunity to sample the service for a full two weeks.
Programming on the Movisat Networks includes informative news, entertainment, variety shows, original content, and other forms of entertainment, according to an announcement from the company.
"Movisat Networks will take you to a permanent vacation, with your culture, your language, and flavors. You will have access to the most brilliant, entertaining and diverse programs that you view from any computer or lap top with a high speed, broadband connection," explained Fabian Esteban, CEO and President of the company.
Movisat Networks promises to be the biggest development in television. The technology involved is a giant leap forward in the world of digital entertainment. Viewers may sample the programming for free, then continue on a monthly suscription after the trial is completed.
"You will be able to informed about the latest news, and entertained any time of the day or night. You can watch at home, at the office, or anywhere you travel. Even at the beach or at the airport. With Movisat Networks you are just moments away from the best live video, without commercial interuptions." said Esteban.
The company provides new viewers with atwo week free trial. Details are available on the company web site at www.movisatnetworks.com.
DD :NEC Australia Takes Centre Stage at Broadband World Forum Asia
May 15, 2006 04:02 AM
Related Entries: IPTV Events
NEC Australia is set to make an impression on the Asian market by showcasing its innovative broadband technologies at this year’s Broadband World Forum Asia, being held from May 15 to 18.
NEC Australia’s unique platform, the NEC AM Series Multi Service Access Platform (MSAP) which delivers PCCW’s now Broadband TV service, will be on show at stand 309. The NEC IPTV and AM Series innovation is a result of over 10 years of work on DSL technology development by NEC Australia. It plays an integral part in the future global development of broadband technologies.
Having deployed over 10 million DSL lines globally and secured major broadband technology deployments to Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Russia, Singapore, Malaysia and Turkey, NEC Australia plans to further increase its export revenue by heightening its profile in the Asian market.
NEC Australia’s Managing Director, Mr. Toshiharu Iwasa comments that “the Broadband World Forum is the perfect platform for us to display our innovations. Our goal is not only to increase our market share in regions we currently supply to, but also to significantly expand our reach to new export markets in Australasia and Europe.”
NEC Australia has been developing and deploying its DSL technology and AM Series MSAP to PCCW in Hong Kong for almost five years. Since its launch, now TV has been a tremendous success in Hong Kong. Two and a half years later and this unique IPTV solution has been deployed to over half a million subscribers and is the first and largest commercial video-over-DSL deployment in the world.
Mr. Iwasa adds that “with 60 per cent of broadband users taking up the IPTV service in Hong Kong in two and a half years and benefits such as customer specific on-screen billing and subscription management, DVD quality picture, more than 110 channels and the ability to use IPTV and the internet at the same time, the take-up rate so far has been huge and will continue to rise.”
Director of Innovation and Solutions in NEC Australia’s Nextep Broadband division,
Vincent Kennedy, will also be speaking at the Broadband World Forum on ‘Technologies and Issues for the Home Network Environment’, scheduled on 16 May at 2pm. Mr. Kennedy’s experience includes being involved in early deployments of ADSL broadband systems in the mid 1990s for delivery of PayTV and video on demand. In his current role, Mr. Kennedy drives the technical and service strategy of Nextep Broadband – a wholesale service provider offering virtual private networks, ISP services, voice-over IP (VoIP) and a range of emerging IP applications based on NEC’s leading SIP/IMS platform.
NEC Australia invites delegates and media to visit Stand 309 during the exhibition to see the platform that delivers the largest IPTV deployment in the world in action.
DD :Digital Television is Expected to Be Comprehensively Deployed in China before 2008
May 15, 2006 04:05 AM
Related Entries: IPTV Events
Research and Markets has announced the addition of Operational Study of China's Digital TV Market, 2004-2005 to their offering.
This report describes DTV market in China, its operation patterns and its related policies. It also provides suggestions and recommendations to investors.
Digital Television (DTV) is a new type of broadcasting technology that transmits television programs in "data bits". Compared with the analog television, DTV enjoys overwhelming superiorities. It has become an irreversible trend both at home and abroad that analog television will be digitized. China has set the timetable to implement DTV, that is, it plans to comprehensively deploy DTV before 2008 and phase out analog television by 2015.
The State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SARFT), the major television regulatory body in China, has always positively promoted the development of DTV. In 2001, SARFT released The Tenth Five-year Program of Radio Film and Television Technology and constituted The Timetable of CATV to DTV. SARFT is also considering inviting domestic investors who have capitals, resources and programs including private capital investment, to join the operation of pay channels. In addition, SARFT has won support from the tax department who has promised some tax-reducing or remitting policies on DTV investments.
All sectors in the DTV industry chain are interdependent and playing different roles. The upstream products can only produce value when they reach the end users through the industry chain. Any interruption of the industry chain will cause failure for the upstream products to reach end users, thus produce no value. Balanced development and eliminating bottleneck are the right ways to pursue a benign cycle of the industry chain.
From the point of view on competition strategy, upstream and downstream enterprises in the industry chain are both rivals and partners. They need to cooperate smoothly as well as bring their strengths into full play to gain profits. When a bottleneck occurs in the industry chain, there might be a substitute to make sure the chain maintains complete. Currently many people intend to unify the industry chain to maximize profits. This is obviously impractical.
Currently the DTV industry in China is still in an initiation stage, and the industry chain is gradually shaping. A bottleneck in the chain will obstruct the development of the whole industry.
Besides digital CATV, DTV also includes In-Building TV, Mobile TV and Internet Protocol TV (IPTV).
In-Building TV is a new type of public media rising in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. In-Building TV ads are mainly high-grade and stylish commercials, entertainment information and public service advertisement. Industries that advertise in In-Building TV are mainly of telecommunications, banking, mobile phone, automobile, cosmetic and commodities, among which telecoms, mobile phone and automobile commercials account for 10 percent of the total.
Mobile TV is initially introduced by Singapore. In 2002, Shanghai launched its mobile TV system and related services in its bus system and became the second city in the world to establish a mobile TV system. May 2004 saw successful trial broadcasting of mobile TV in Beijing. Currently, citizens in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Changchun and Nanjing can watch mobile TV on buses.
IPTV, incorporating Internet, multi-media and communications technologies, is a new type of technology based on broadband CATV network which provides various interactive services including digital television to family users. There are two types of IPTV operators in China: traditional broadcast and television enterprises such as CCTV and Shanghai Media & Entertainment Group, and telecom operators such as China Telecom and CNC. IPTV business in China is currently limited to proving television services such as live broadcasting and on-demand broadcasting, and the programs are still based on conventional television video resources. The key to the future development of IPTV is the operation pattern.
Cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Qingdao, Foshan, Hangzhou, Taiyuan and Suzhou are earlier in developing IPTV and have established their respective IPTV systems to a certain scale. These cases are worth learning.
While the government is vigorously promoting the development of DTV, there are some problems existed in the industry, such as delay of standardization,, difficulty of network integration , lack of terminals, immaturity of market, deficiency of contents, old TV-watching habits, lack of pricing standards, yet-to-be-improved core technology, faultiness of DTV industry chain, immature operation pattern and system problems. All these affect the development of DTV in China.
Future DTV technology will be oriented to flat and large-scale TVs with high definition and information-oriented. With a large consumer market and excellent investment environment, DTV has a bright future in China.
This report is currently only available in Chinese. If you wish to obtain an English version of this report, please allow 5 working days for report translation.
Topics Covered
Definitions
Background of China's television industry
Policies concerning the development of DTV in China
Analysis of DTV business pattern
Case study of DTV business
Investment analysis of DTV industry
Development trends and conclusions of China's DTV industry
Companies Mentioned
CTV Media DTV Investment
TIK DTV Investment
Oriental Pearl Group DTV Investment
Stellar-Megamedia DTV Investment
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c36980
DD :Ready For A Triple Play Future?
In the coming years IPTV is expected drive growth so video needs to be integrated as part of your triple play strategy. You'll also want to develop competency and explore the opportunities for delivering pay TV services profitably and successfully. And as IPTV has moved beyond the trial stage to actual deployment, there’s lesson to learn from the pioneers.
At the 3rd annual China Broadband Triple Play/IPTV Forum, carriers and other industry players come together to discuss the current IPTV issues. An interesting program addresses China’s IPTV eco-system, latest global technological developments, content, services, market trends, licensing, partnerships as well as regulatory affairs. Find out how to be at the forefront of opportunities presented by IPTV and what solutions are available to meet the challenges ahead in China’s unique telecom environment. This event brings substantial educational benefits to carriers, broadband service providers, content licensors and distributors, telecom regulators, ISPs, WISPs, service providers, telecom research institutes, systems/network integrators, network operators, systems vendors, device/terminal makers, video solution providers, application developers, etc.
The future of telecom lies in offering multiple services over a common network. Make sure you are ready for this future. Limited seating so register now for China Broadband Triple Play/IPTV Forum!
For more information about attending, speaking or sponsorship opportunities, please contact Mr Peter Lee of the Event Secretariat at:
Tel.+852-2865 1118 or email: peter.lee@infoexws.com
Why attend?
China Broadband Triple Play/IPTV Forum provides the knowledge on how you can shorten time to service deployment. You'll also learn about the current industry standards for everything from transport to video. Come hear the market analysis for broadband video services. Find out which architecture can deliver the best ROI. Familiarize yourself with the programming and content issues, plus much more! Among the topics that will be addressed at the upcoming Forum in 2006 are....
Definition of IP-TV and the service concept
Market demand and trends for triple play/IPTV
Integration strategy
Business drivers for telcos to offer triple play services.
Consideration for entering the video distribution business and the strategies for ensuring your venture becomes profitable.
What content consumers want from broadband and how you can tailor your programming to meet their demand.
Approaches other telcos have taken to secure content deals.
Infrastructure upgrades needed to support current and future services.
Regulatory landscape regarding telco TV and how to work around the legal framework using models such as franchising, licensing and alliances with broadcasters and content producers.
Who to partner with for content and how to effectively distribute content across to customers.
Approaches to content protection and available technologies
Bandwidth saving compression tools.
Upgrades for the access network.
Investment required in the backhaul part of your network, the economics of triple play, OPEX, CAPEX, cost recovery and ROI.
End-to-end triple play solutions from leading industry vendors.
Role of carrier grade products to implement and integrate video/television as part of your service.
Adding Electronic Programming Guides (EPG) functions and Video on Demand (VoD) features to existing IPTV services Technical considerations and challenges for deploying IP-TV application
Transport and access network implementation issues
Triple play applications - implications on the network
Access to media content through licensing, procuring and partnerships
Selection criteria for head-end servers for IP-TV, VoD, System Management, Middleware, CPE management
Selection criteria for CPE for broadband termination and triple play applications
Selection criteria for CPE for media termination (set-top box)
Positioning, differentiating, bundling, packaging, pricing and marketing of voice, data and video services
Value added applications for the triple play environment-network games, e-commerce, instant messaging, video telephony Convergence of triple play mobile applications
Plus much more!
Who should attend?
Triple play has captured the attention and imagination of operators around the globe. Over the coming years, most of the world's telcos and service providers will aspire to adopt video in addition to telephony and data over one network. China is no exception. Now is the time to come forward to explore the vision and promise of video over broadband.
Fixed line and mobile carriers
Broadband service providers
Provincial PTT
Content licensors and distributors
Telecom regulators
ISPs and WISPs
Service providers
Telecom research institutes
Systems/network integrators
Network operators
Systems vendors
Device/terminal makers
Standards development groups
Video solution providers
Application developers
Industry analysts
Investors
Consultants
Trade media
"IPTV will become a flagship application on China Telecom's Vnet this year. The nation's largest fixed line operators are about to begin a national marketing campaign to promote IPTV in all major cities. With IPTV broadband users can watch edited TV programs or VOD on PC or through set-top box. China Telecom has an ongoing commercial IPTV pilot in Shanghai with Shanghai Media Group (SMG), a local cable TV operator. Preliminary results show video will become "the most attractive" service for broadband users. One estimate puts IPTV users to 100 million by 2008 and 40 billion yuan (US$4.8 billion) in revenue."
Source: ChinaNex FieldCall January 10, 2005 Newsletter
Event Secretariat:
Infoex-World Services Ltd.
202 Tesbury Center, 28 Queens Road East, Hong Kong, SAR China
Tel.852-2865 1118
Fax.852-2865 1129
Email: info@infoexws.com
DD :SupportSoft Discusses Best Practices for Reliable IPTV Deployment at China Broadband Triple Play/IPTV Forum
May 15, 2006 08:50 AM
Related Entries: IPTV Events
SupportSoft, Inc. , a leading provider of Real-Time Service Management (RTSM) software, will share support automation insights that can accelerate IPTV service delivery and allow Chinese broadband service providers to reliably scale to meet anticipated market demand at this year's China Broadband Triple Play conference. SupportSoft will host a session entitled, "IPTV: Turn the Prospect of High Churn into High Earn," focusing on the profitable customer adoption of IPTV through use of best practices for automated service installation, provisioning, CPE management and problem resolution.
According to research firm Point-Topic, at current growth rates, China will overtake the U.S. as the country with the largest broadband usage in the world by the end of 2006(1). The SupportSoft-led discussion will explore the opportunities presented by IPTV and what solutions are available to meet the challenges ahead in China's unique telecom environment. Carriers, service providers and other industry players attend the China Broadband Triple Play/IPTV Forum to gain insights on current IPTV issues, technological developments, content, services, and market trends.
A new whitepaper from SupportSoft entitled, "IPTV: The Clear Picture," illustrates key service provider challenges and opportunities for profitably delivering IPTV. A copy of the whitepaper can be obtained by visiting http://www.supportsoft.com/iptv.
WHAT:
"IPTV: Turn the Prospect of High Churn into High Earn"
WHO: Richard Caballero, Director, Digital Services Product Marketing, SupportSoft, Inc.
WHERE:
China Broadband Triple Play/IPTV Forum Kempinski Hotel Beijing, PRC
WHEN:
Tuesday, 23 May 14:10 - 14:50 local time
DD :Yahoo! BB to Deliver IPTV Services Vver Cisco IP NGN
May 15, 2006 09:32 AM
Related Entries: Asia IPTV
Cisco Systems announced that Yahoo! BB, one of Japan's largest broadband service providers, has deployed the high-capacity 40Gbps (OC-768c/STM-256c), interface card on its Cisco Carrier Routing System (Cisco CRS-1). The provider plans to deploy the high-capacity interface nationwide in the future.
Yahoo! BB, one of Japan's largest broadband service providers, is driving rapid growth of its advanced IP video services, including video-on-demand (VoD), with the Cisco Internet Protocol Next-Generation Network (IP NGN) architecture. Yahoo! BB currently serves more than 5 million ADSL subscribers and provides advanced video services throughout 23 districts in Tokyo, Hokkaido, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Aichi, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka. The Cisco IP NGN architecture gives Yahoo! BB the flexibility, scalability, security and stability it needs to maintain and even increase its rapid growth.
"Yahoo! BB is among the world's most progressive, customer-focused providers, and we are pleased to continue working closely with it to develop and deploy the technologies that enable advanced IPTV services," said Tony Bates, senior vice president of routing and service provider technology at Cisco.
"The implementation of the 40Gbps interface card in CRS-1 has greatly improved the efficiency and extensibility of transmission facility resources in the Yahoo! BB network," said Mr. Keiichi Makizono, general manager of the technology division for SOFTBANK BB. "As a result, capacity of the network has quadrupled, supporting an increasing number of broadband users."
DD:IPTV a $44B Market by 2009
By Roy Mark
IPTV equipment and service revenue is expected to hit $44 billion over the next three years, according to a new report by Infonetics Research.
The research firm said worldwide IPTV (define) subscribers will climb to 53 million by 2009. To meet that demand, service providers are rapidly increasing their investments in infrastructure, transport and content.
Europe, the Middle East and Asia is the leading region for IPTV service revenue. Subscribers in the Asia-Pacific region, where faster forms of DSL such as VDSL2 are stimulating subscriber growth, almost doubled from 2004 to 2005.
The report further states that IPTV subscribers in North America will increase four-fold between 2005 and 2009.
By 2009, Infonetics expects IPTV equipment revenue will be $6 billion and service revenue will climb to $38 billion. Worldwide IPTV equipment revenue topped $400 million in 2005.
"Service providers expect huge returns from IPTV, and they are investing heavily in IPTV infrastructure to ensure those returns," Jeff Heynen, an Infonetics analyst, said in a statement.
Currently, broadband providers with DSL and Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) services account for the majority of service revenue.
"Right now they're focused on transport infrastructure, upgrading their access networks with higher-bandwidth ADSL2+, VDSL2 and FTTH platforms, and adding IP edge routers and Ethernet routers and switches to handle the expected traffic demands of the escalating numbers of IPTV subscribers," Heynen said.
According to the report, IP set top box (STB) revenue currently accounts for 42 percent of IPTV equipment revenue as providers purchase MPEG-2 STBs. Infonetics predicts IP STB sales will nearly double every year for the next three years.
Infonetics also expects cable broadband providers to migrate to all IP-based services in the next few years.
DD :KyLinTV Blockbusters
Chinese IPTV Services Broadcasts New Hits for May
(May 10, 2006)
PLAINVIEW, N.Y., May 10 /PRNewswire/ -- KyLinTV today announced its latest spotlight, May Blockbusters. The arrangement of hit movies from all over Asia will offer KyLinTV subscribers even more of the most popular titles that are hard to find in North America.
This month, customers can tune in to KyLinTV and enjoy some of the biggest and most talked about films and TV dramas from China, Korea, Japan and other Asian countries.
Available now on KyLinTV is award-winning film, "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance," the SK box office hit of 2005 about a woman who seeks revenge upon release from jail, which won at the Venice International Film Festival, and "Princess Raccoon," a film adapted from a well-known Japanese folklore starring Zi-Yi Zhang, which premiered at the 57th Cannes Film Festival.
DD :CCTV Gains China's Second IPTV License
May 10, 2006
China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) has told local media that the country's second IPTV license will go to CCTV.
Zhu Hong, a representative from SARFT, says that the license that CCTV gets is the same in nature with that of the first one owned by Shanghai Media Group.
However CCTV is initially only approved to run IPTV service on a trial basis.
DD :Pioneer Telephone Coop launches WealthTV
While it seems like a small play, the Pioneer Telephone Cooperative is one of the earliest to deploy IPTV service in the U.S. (they launched in Oklahoma in 2004). The latest network to sign up with Pioneer is WealthTV, which covers travel, luxury cars, better etiquette and better investing. Pioneer claims 53,000 total customers in 30 Oklahoma counties (not too shabby). Much of the innovation in the U.S. IPTV sector will begin with the small players since they'll need to distinguish themselves from the larger telco offerings moving forward.
DD :T-Online gains more than 500K DSL subs in Q1
German ISP T-Online announced an impressive 500,000 new DSL subscribers in Germany, which serves the company well as it plans to offer triple play services in the country, as well as in France and Spain. The company's chairman Rainer Beaujean said, "After investing in the groundwork for our triple-play strategy in 2005, we are now embarking on the next stage in 2006. With the imminent market launch of triple-play offerings in France and Spain, as well as the unveiling of T-Home in Germany, T-Online will occupy an excellent position in the fast-moving broadband market." T-Online has partnered with Microsoft and Cisco/Linksys to create the needed economies of scale. The SP is integrating Microsoft's MSTV IPTV software platform into its service and is working with Cisco/Linksys for much of the needed hardware.
For more on T-Online's imminent IPTV roll out:
DD: IPTV equipment sales hit $400M in 2005; will top $6B in 2009, says Infonetics
May 9, 2006 Campbell, CA -- The fanfare surrounding IPTV is "more than just hype," confirms a new report by Infonetics Research. According to the report, equipment sales, service revenue, subscribers, and service provider capex for IPTV all increased dramatically between 2004 and 2005, and are expected to "explode" by 2009.
The firm observes that, with numbers of worldwide IPTV subscribers expected to swell to 53 million by 2009, service providers are investing rapidly increasing amounts of capital in IPTV content and transport equipment. In 2009, $26 billion of worldwide service provider capex will be spent on IPTV infrastructure, says the firm.
Meanwhile, worldwide IPTV equipment revenue is forecasted to surge to $6 billion, and service revenue will jump to $38 billion. The report finds that broadband service providers with DSL and FTTH services account for the bulk of IPTV service revenue now, but says that cable broadband providers will also migrate to all-IP triple play services in the next few years, while also offering wireless services.
"Service providers expect huge returns from IPTV, and they are investing heavily in IPTV infrastructure to ensure those returns," comments Jeff Heynen, directing analyst for IPTV at Infonetics Research. "Right now they're focused on transport infrastructure, upgrading their access networks with higher-bandwidth ADSL2+, VDSL2, and FTTH platforms, and adding IP edge routers and Ethernet routers and switches to handle the expected traffic demands of the escalating numbers of IPTV subscribers. Over the next four years, though, their investments will shift a bit to content infrastructure, so they'll spend more on things like video on demand servers, encoders, content security platforms, and headend equipment."
Highlights of the report include:
* Worldwide IPTV equipment revenue topped $400 million.
* EMEA is the leading region for IPTV service revenue, accounting for 48% of the worldwide total.
* IP set top box (STB) revenue represents 42% of all IPTV equipment revenue, as service providers began volume purchases of MPEG-2 enabled STBs for the presentation of IPTV content.
* IP STB sales will nearly double every year for the next 3 years.
* The number of IPTV subscribers in Asia Pacific almost doubled between 2004 and 2005, where faster forms of DSL like VDSL2 and ADSL2/2+ are stimulating subscriber growth.
* The number of IPTV subscribers in North America will increase more than 40-fold between 2005 and 2009.
The report, "IPTV Equipment, Services, and Subscribers," provides "top player" analysis, current and forecasted market size, and forecasts for IPTV equipment, services revenue, subscribers, and content and transport infrastructure capex. IPTV equipment tracked includes integrated digital headend platforms, video on demand servers, IPTV service delivery platforms, and IP set top boxes.
ragsisme I am by no means an expert on tech. issues. However from what little I understand the way IPTV is encoded in the cable network it does not compromise the network. Seems like partly that is the reason why people are excited as all one will need is the special triple play set top box(STB) and no other special cable infrastructure to be deployed all around the neighbourhood-town-city-countries. I guess all that is req. is a broadband connection. Hope I have ans. your question.
Will Ewan be here also?
The 2nd Annual IPTV and Telco Triple Play Forum - May 8-9, Amsterdam
Come meet telecoms and media companies to debate the strengths and weaknesses of content propositions, marketing strategies, pricing schemes and competing technology standards for IPTV. Email wendy_fanner@osneymedia.co.uk or click here to register (Quote ref code: 853FM) or call +44 (0) 20 7880 2728.
DD :Telecommunications webcast: IPTV meets Carrier Ethernet
Who: Michael Howard, moderator
When: May 9, 11:30 a.m. ET Telecommunications
www.telecommagazine.com
DD :Billing & OSS World: BT Overcomes IPTV Challenges
Service Launch in Coming Months Will Test Carrier’s Mettle
by Jim Barthold
Thu, May 4. 2006
Despite daunting technical, commercial and partnership challenges – and a crowded marketplace where powerful cable operators Telewest and NTL are merging and possibly adding Virgin Mobile into their offerings mix and satellite provider BSkyB controls popular soccer sports programming -- BT is on target to launch IPTV services to its 8 million U.K. broadband subscribers in the next several months.
“The work is done and the trials are under way,” said Clive Selley, CIO of BT Wholesale speaking at Billing & OSS World in Miami. “The potential prize is very large; the challenge is to find new ways of packaging content that is attractive.”
BT will probably adopt a pay-per-view model of delivering content rather than using the bundled programming subscription method used by most cable companies, Selley said, noting that high bundle prices turn consumers off.
“The guy who offers top quality service will be valued by the consumer,” he said.
BT, he added, continues to deal with a series of challenges, including being able to properly package and deliver high- quality video over a broadband network that was not initially built for video entertainment. While BT’s broadband capacity has increased dramatically over the past four years to the point where there is more than enough bandwidth to deliver video service, that may not be enough to ensure a quality experience so the carrier is adding a “mechanism for delivering QoS commensurate with a video service to the home,” he said.
There are also network architecture considerations. Because video is delivered over a continuous stream rather than in bursts like broadband voice and data services, it is optimal to push content out to the network edges and conserve bandwidth.
Beyond the technical challenges there are more esoteric concerns about “a whole plethora of standards” and how they will impact technology since BT, unlike some IPTV providers, will buy, not build its own technology.
Finally, and probably most crucially, the carrier’s IT staff will be strained to deal with challenges ranging from the “capability to take orders in real time” to parental controls to billing for on-demand services and the MIS force will be asked to aggregate information that tells the service provider who’s buying what content, why and who should be targeted, Selley said.
“All of this dictates our forward policy,” he said.
IPTV will also require BT to establish “forge new relationships with critical partners” for everything from content to end user set-top boxes.
Finally, Selley conceded, the company must be prepared for so-called disruptive technologies that can throw off even the best planned video service.
“There will be many new disruptive technologies,” he said, pointing to digital video recorders (DVRs) as one of the more obvious. “At this stage we can only speculate about what kind of impact they will have.”
At this point, BT also can only speculate about the size of its customer base, but Selley said he was confident, based on the results cable operators NTL and Telewest and satellite provider BSkyB have been achieving.
“It’s a crowded market,” Selley conceded.
Will Ewan be here?
Multi-City Symposium For Triple Play Executives and Technologists
The leading forum to learn about triple play and quad play
Keynote speakers from Tier 1 triple/quad play service providers
Market analysis provided by Heavy Reading
Topics include VoIP, IP-TV, IP-Video Middleware, FMC, and IMS
See demonstrations of cutting-edge technology
Understand triple play business models and ROI
Learn from a panel of the leading triple play experts
Participate in service provider executive round-table
Network during the cocktail reception
Come join fellow executives for a day of insightful learning and networking:
Triple play is the driving competitive force behind the current and future plans of service providers of all types-- incumbent Telcos, ISPs, Cable MSOs, Mobile Carriers, and CLECs all realize that the service provider who provides the most compelling and cost-effective bundle of voice-video-data will win the war. In short, triple play can reduce customer churn, improve ARPU, reduce operational costs, and ultimately will be the lynchpin for service provider survival during this hyper-competitive era.
Last year’s Triple Play Symposium (held in San Jose and New York) proved to be the premier forum for learning and exchanging ideas about the technology and business model behind successful triple play deployments. Triple play decision makers and technologists from leading service providers converged to discuss how to effectively make the business and technical decisions that will be the difference between success and mere survival.
This year the Triple Play Symposium is expanding with the addition of a Paris venue. Europe continues to be the most advanced and competitive market for triple play deployments, and the cross-Atlantic learning for all participants should be invaluable.
2005 Triple Play Symposium Highlights
Keynote from Paolo Tavazzani, Head of Advanced Services, Fastweb
Market analysis by Heavy Reading’s Rick Thompson and market perspectives by leading analysts from Infonetics, VDC, and Parks Associates
250 attendees (over 400 expected this year) including Service Provider executives and technologists from:
AT&T
AOL
Cablevision
China Telecom
Chunghwa Telecom
Comcast
Covad
Equant
Fastweb
France Telecom
SBC
Sprint
SureWest
Telus
Verizon
DD :KPN launches Mine: the new way to watch television
Today, KPN is launching interactive television under the brand name Mine. With this innovative service, KPN is introducing a new way to watch television, built around individual viewer wishes. Subscribers to Mine get a wide range of TV and radio channels, films and information services that they can easily watch whenever it suits them. A subscription to Mine will cost € 19.95 a month.
At launch, Mine subscribers will have over 48 TV and 60 radio channels to choose from, which will be further expanded to 60 TV and 70 radio channels before the summer. Furthermore, Mine also includes ‘FilmDirect’, a video on demand service currently offering some 300 titles, soon to be expanded to 500, for which KPN has reached agreement with parties including Warner Bros. International Television Distribution and Blockbuster Entertainment Ltd. The plans for a joint venture with Endemol for content development and exploitation have been announced previously. KPN expects to announce further tie-ups during the coming months. The ‘Missed Program’ feature enables subscribers to see programs they have missed on the three Dutch public channels up to 10 days after airing. Pressing the ‘My Info’ button will give viewers up-to-the-minute news as well as weather and regional traffic reports.
The Mine package, offered via ADSL, will include as standard a personal recorder with space for up to a hundred hours of television, with the added bonus of being able to pause live TV broadcasts. The electronic program guide (EPG) shows what’s on at the press of a button. It also has a reminder feature, to warn viewers when a program is about to start.
New viewing experience
Ludolf Rasterhoff, KPN’s TV & Media director: “We are proud of this new TV service. Mine is a whole new way of experiencing TV. It puts an end to the traditional, passive viewing experience which was essentially one-way traffic. Now, the individual viewer decides which program he wants to see and when. With Mine, we aim to make watching TV more enjoyable, focusing on what viewers want.”
Spoilt for choice
Channels and services will continue to be added to the Mine line-up during the course of 2006. Additionally, from this summer, the service will be offering theme packages. Subscribers to Club TV, for instance, will receive exclusive broadcasts from the country’s three biggest football sides: Ajax TV, Feyenoord TV and PSV TV. In cooperation with Tijdbeeld Media, Mine will also be launching the ‘NostalgiaNet’, a channel reviving the golden oldies of radio and television. In 2007, Mine will even enable subscribers to make their own TV programs and watch them on their own channel, making TV even more personal.
The customer is always right
In its development of interactive television, KPN is putting the customer center stage. The first people to sign up for Mine will therefore be invited to participate in a customer platform. In exchange for their active participation and input, they will be not have to pay a subscription fee. KPN will be using their experiences to fine-tune the service to viewers’ wishes. This introductory offer runs until October 1, 2006. Till then, the theme packages and theme channels are also free, and subscribers can watch 20 movies a month for nothing. KPN expects to have some 10,000 customers for Mine by this time.
From today, customers can sign up online by visiting www.minetv.nl. Mine is available immediately for people with a KPN Direct ADSL or Planet Internet ADSL subscription. From this summer, anyone can subscribe.
DD:Verizon Reports Strong First-Quarter 2006 Results
Quarter Highlighted by Continued Industry-Leading Wireless, Broadband and Data Results
May 2, 2006
Media contacts:
Peter Thonis, 212-395-2355
Bob Varettoni, 908-559-6388
To view Verizon's 1Q Earnings Tables click here
FIRST-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
Consolidated Results
Diluted earnings per share (EPS) of 56 cents, or 60 cents per share before special items (non-GAAP measure)
Reported revenues of $22.7 billion, up 25.1 percent from first quarter 2005; operating income of $3.9 billion, up 14.0 percent from first quarter 2005
$6.1 billion cash flow from operating activities; $0.4 billion in share repurchases
Wireless
1.7 million net customer additions, up 2.9 percent from first quarter 2005; 53.0 million total customers, up 16.7 percent from first quarter 2005
Continued industry record-setting low churn (customer turnover) of 1.18 percent, retail postpaid churn of 0.92 percent
Total revenues up 18.8 percent from first quarter 2005; EBITDA margin (non-GAAP) of 44.5 percent; data ARPU up 79 percent from first quarter 2005
Wireline
541,000 net new broadband connections (DSL and FiOS data customers) in first quarter 2006; 5.7 million total broadband connections, up 47.1 percent from first quarter 2005
6.3 million consumer and small business accounts enrolled in Verizon Freedom service packages, up from 4.7 million in first quarter 2005
Data revenues of $3.9 billion in the quarter, up 89.7 percent from first quarter 2005, including results from Verizon Business domestic and global operations
Integration of the former MCI ahead of plan, resulting in first-quarter synergies exceeding expectations in network traffic migration, systems integration and workforce reductions
Notes: Reclassifications of prior-period amounts have been made to reflect comparable results excluding Verizon's Hawaii wireline and directory operations, which were sold in the second quarter 2005. See the schedules accompanying this news release and www.verizon.com/investor for reconciliations to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for the non-GAAP financial measures included in this announcement.
NEW YORK -- Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) today reported strong financial and operational results for the first quarter 2006. Verizon Wireless continued to lead the industry in profitable growth and customer loyalty, and Verizon's wireline business sustained industry-leading levels of broadband customer growth and, after the completion of the MCI, Inc. merger, greatly expanded its global presence in business and government markets.
For the first quarter 2006, Verizon reported earnings of $1.6 billion, or 56 cents per diluted share, compared with $1.8 billion, or 63 cents per share, in the first quarter 2005. Reported earnings in the first quarter 2006 reflect 4 cents per share in special items for employee relocations and merger integration costs, the early extinguishment of debt, and the cumulative effect of an accounting change. Before these special items (non-GAAP), Verizon's earnings were 60 cents per share in the first quarter 2006.
Consolidated operating revenues in the first quarter 2006 were $22.7 billion, a 25.1 percent increase compared with the first quarter 2005; consolidated total operating expenses were $18.9 billion, a 27.6 percent increase compared with the first quarter 2005; and consolidated operating income was $3.9 billion, a 14.0 percent increase compared with the first quarter 2005. Reported results include MCI subsequent to the close of the merger on Jan. 6, 2006.
On a pro-forma basis (non-GAAP), comparing first quarter 2006 with first quarter 2005, adjusted earnings per share decreased 3.3 percent, adjusted operating revenues increased 3.1 percent and adjusted operating income increased 13.5 percent. Adjusted operating income margins would have been 17.2 percent in first quarter 2006, compared with 15.6 percent in first quarter 2005. Pro-forma adjusted information presents the combined operating results of Verizon and the former MCI on a comparable basis.
'Driving Revenue Growth'
"Our financial performance in the first quarter was on target, and we are focused on driving revenue growth in each of our business segments," said Ivan Seidenberg, Verizon chairman and CEO. "Our goal is simple: Given the quality of our superior networks and customer service, we expect Verizon Wireless and our wireline segment -- Verizon Telecom and Verizon Business -- to lead the industry, not necessarily in size but in profitable growth.
"Verizon Wireless is already there, and this quarter it has once again enhanced its position as the industry leader in terms of network reliability and customer loyalty. Verizon Telecom is taking the necessary steps to ramp up revenue growth from fiber-based FiOS data and TV services, and Verizon Business is already seeing revenue growth in strategic IP-based business services.
"This quarter also demonstrates Verizon's continued focus on delivering increased value to shareowners as well as to customers. We have repurchased shares, and we are divesting operations that are not core to our strategy of building network-based businesses that create new markets and drive profitable growth."
Wireless Continues to Surpass Own and Industry Records
Verizon Wireless continued to surpass performance milestones previously set by the company and the industry with record net customer additions and profitability for a first quarter, and an all-time industry low churn among major carriers.
This was the 15th consecutive quarter of double-digit, year-over-year revenue growth. It was also the eighth consecutive quarter that the company added more than 1.5 million customers, the fifth consecutive quarter with EBITDA margins above 40 percent and the 13th consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth in gross customer additions.
Verizon Wireless added 1.7 million net new customers in the first quarter 2006, for a total of 53.0 million customers nationwide, representing a 16.7 percent increase from the first quarter last year. At the end of the first quarter 2006, the company was the fastest growing in the industry in terms of customers, adding a net of 7.6 million new customers in the past 12 months.
Verizon Wireless continued to set new records for the company and the industry for low customer churn, a key measure of customer loyalty. For the first quarter 2006, total churn was a record-low 1.18 percent, and churn among the company's retail postpaid customers was 0.92 percent, another record.
Verizon Wireless revenues grew 18.8 percent to $8.8 billion in the first quarter 2006, driven by continued strong customer growth and demand for data services. At $872 million, wireless data revenues accounted for nearly 11.5 percent of total wireless service revenues in the quarter.
Wireless operating income margins were 24.0 percent in the quarter, reflecting the company's ability to maintain industry-leading cost efficiency even as it added the most retail customers.
Wireless EBITDA margins were 44.5 percent. (EBITDA -- or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization -- is a non-GAAP measure that adds depreciation and amortization to operating income; EBITDA margin is calculated by dividing EBITDA by wireless service revenues.)
Robust Wireline Broadband Growth
Verizon's wireline business added 541,000 net broadband connections in the first quarter. Verizon now has 5.7 million wireline broadband connections, which includes both DSL and FiOS, Verizon's next-generation, fiber-optic-based service. Verizon has added nearly 1.2 million net wireline broadband connections over the past six months and 1.8 million net broadband connections over the past year, a growth rate of 47.1 percent comparing the first quarter 2006 with the first quarter 2005.
Strong sales of Verizon Freedom packages, which offer local wireline services with various combinations of long-distance and Internet access, were instrumental in retaining retail wireline customers. More than 6.3 million Verizon Freedom packages were in service to mass market (residential and small business) customers by the end of the first quarter 2006, an increase of 1.6 million since the end of the first quarter 2005 and 0.8 million since year-end 2005.
Following the MCI merger, Verizon's wireline business segment includes both Verizon Telecom and Verizon Business operations. Total wireline operating revenues were $12.5 billion in the first quarter 2006, an increase of 33.3 percent compared with the first quarter 2005 on an adjusted basis (non-GAAP) -- excluding revenues from operations sold in 2005. Total wireline operating expenses were $11.4 billion in the first quarter 2006, a 40.6 percent increase compared with the first quarter 2005 on the same basis.
Successful Launch of Verizon Business
The MCI integration is on plan, and Verizon Business is ahead of plan to achieve the $550 million target in merger synergies this year. Approximately $50 million in merger synergies were realized in the first quarter 2006, and this is expected to ramp up to total $150 million by the end of the second quarter. A total of $400 million in synergies is expected in the second half of the year. Synergies include reducing the workforce by approximately 3,500 in 2006, and to date the company is about a third of the way toward this target.
Network traffic migration and systems integration plans are ahead of plan, including the migration of more than 80 percent of the voice traffic from the legacy Verizon Global Network Services network and 68 percent of all IP (Internet protocol) traffic onto the Verizon Business network. Systems integration includes consolidation of systems for the unit's sales force and product catalogs.
Since its launch in January, Verizon Business has rolled out a steady stream of new products and services that demonstrate immediate benefits for large business and government customers. For example, simultaneous with its formal market entry, Verizon Business unveiled integrated wireless and wireline offerings designed to enhance workforce mobility and provide reliable backup for customer data networks.
Verizon Business has capitalized on this initial momentum by expanding Verizon's Ethernet access services in key cities in the U.S., Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, and integrating these services with Private IP, the business unit's fastest-growing service.
Strong Cash Flow, Share Repurchases
Cash Flows from Operating Activities were $6.1 billion in the first quarter 2006, compared with $3.9 billion in the first quarter 2005, primarily due to lower external distributions from the Verizon Wireless partnership, lower pension contributions in the first quarter 2006 and the absence of the tax payments that were made in the first quarter 2005 related to 2004 asset sales.
First-quarter capital expenditures were $4.1 billion in 2006, including an increase in wireline investment primarily driven by the inclusion of MCI, compared with $3.6 billion in 2005.
Total debt increased to $43.1 billion, compared with $39.0 billion at year-end 2005, primarily due to the assumption of MCI debt. Verizon either redeemed or refinanced the MCI debt in the first quarter 2006, resulting in an expected $190 million in interest expense savings in 2006.
In the first quarter 2006, Verizon repurchased 11.6 million shares at a cost of $0.4 billion. As previously announced, the company has a target of $1 billion in share repurchases in 2006.
Business Segment Highlights
Following are first-quarter 2006 highlights for Verizon's business segments.
Wireless:
Verizon Wireless again added the most retail customers in the industry during the first quarter. Retail net additions were 1.6 million of the company's 1.7 million total net additions, an increase of 3.1 percent over first quarter of 2005. The company now has 50.7 million retail customers of a total 53.0 million customers.
Service revenues (which do not include taxes and regulatory fees) increased 16.0 percent to $7.6 billion for the first quarter 2006. Average monthly service revenue per customer (ARPU) was $48.67, down 0.7 percent from the similar period in 2005.
Verizon Wireless continued to set the industry standard for cost efficiency, delivering the lowest cash expense. Cash expense per customer declined 6.6 percent year-over-year to $26.99 per month, the second-lowest quarterly level in the company's history.
Data services revenues more than doubled year-over-year, contributing $872 million. In the first quarter, 11.5 percent of service revenues came from data services, up from 6.3 percent the previous year. Data ARPU increased 79 percent from first quarter 2005. The company now has 26.1 million data customers -- a 47 percent increase compared with first quarter 2005.
Verizon Wireless continued to increase the popularity of its national 3G EV-DO high-speed network, adding more broadband services and devices for both business and consumers. At the end of the first quarter, 6.2 million customers had broadband-capable devices.
For business, the company introduced a pay-as-you-go option for BroadbandAccess, which lets customers sign on for 24-hour sessions from laptops embedded with EV-DO capabilities; Field Force Manager, a location-based service for small and medium-sized businesses to map the location of field workers, dispatch jobs and receive reports; and GlobalEmail for e-mail access in more than 50 countries. GlobalEmail is currently available on the Samsung i830, which allows international travelers to keep one phone and one phone number to stay connected via calls and e-mail. Other new business devices included Palm's Treo 700, the first Windows Mobile-based Treo smartphone, and additional laptops and PDAs with EV-DO embedded capabilities.
For consumers, the company launched broadband V CAST Music in January, and already has expanded its library to 1 million songs from artists at major music labels and at independent providers. V CAST Music is the world's most comprehensive mobile music service, allowing customers to download music over the air, to transfer their existing digital music collection from the PC to their wireless phones, and to identify a song title and artist by holding their phone near music that's playing and launching identity software. The company now has three V CAST music-enabled phones. The company also launched VZ Navigator, with audible turn-by-turn instructions, mapping and the ability to find more than 14 million points of interest.
Get It Now services continued to grow to an industry-leading 9.6 billion text messages exchanged during the first quarter; more than 171 million picture and video messages exchanged; and nearly 45 million downloads of games, exclusive content, ringtones and ringback tones.
During the first quarter, the company continued to expand and diversify its distribution channels by making its prepaid service available at Wal-Mart locations nationwide. Customers now can purchase Verizon Wireless service and equipment at 2,100 Verizon Wireless Communications stores, including stores in Circuit City and BJ's, and from 12,000 additional retail locations, including Verizon Wireless agents throughout the U.S. and national retailers such as Best Buy and Costco.
Wireline:
By the end of the first quarter, the company was selling FiOS fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) broadband data services in 15 states, passing a total of 3.6 million homes and businesses. In markets where Verizon has been selling FiOS data services for at least six months, the average penetration rate was 9 percent at the six-month mark in each market, well on the way toward achieving the company's goal of 30 percent penetration in five years. Earnings dilution from FiOS was 6 cents per share in the first quarter 2006.
Verizon has franchises covering more than 1 million households in nine states for FiOS video services. The company has begun selling FiOS TV in select markets in seven of these states.
In Florida, Texas and Virginia markets where Verizon has been selling FiOS TV for at least four months, Verizon's penetration levels range from 9 percent to 12 percent, already halfway towards the company's goal of from 20 percent to 25 percent penetration in five years. Verizon launched FiOS TV in Keller, Texas, in September 2005 and has 24 percent penetration there.
Approximately 80 percent of FiOS video customers are "triple play" customers -- receiving wireline, Internet access and TV services from Verizon.
Verizon now has 415,000 customers who receive a Verizon DirecTV bundle, up 66,000 from year-end 2005.
Data revenues, which totaled $3.9 billion in the first quarter, now make up approximately 30 percent of Verizon's overall wireline revenues.
Total switched access lines in service were 48.0 million at the end of the first quarter 2006, a 6.9 percent decline compared with the first quarter 2005. Among Verizon residential retail customers, gains in wireline broadband connections more than offset losses in traditional access lines for the second consecutive quarter.
Verizon Business aggressively interconnected the Verizon and MCI enterprise networks, resulting in the largest ultra-long haul network in the U.S. and the world's largest wholly-owned, facilities-based, global network. This expanded reach provides the ability to manage Verizon Business' global network in a cost-effective manner with high service quality.
In addition to new enterprise wireless data services, Verizon Business offerings during the quarter included an extension of its next-generation suite of Internet telephony services, the addition of VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) to its contact center service suite, the unveiling of a new remote IP application management service, the introduction of industry-leading service-level commitments for its Managed IP PBX (private branch exchange) services, and a new set of "application aware" network tools to help businesses improve the performance of their IP networks and associated business applications.
Verizon Business secured substantial new business as well as completing additional agreements with existing customers. New agreements include helping B/E Aerospace, the world's leading manufacturer of cabin interior products for commercial aircraft and business jets, to transition from a traditional data environment to an advanced IP communications system using Verizon Business Private IP. In addition, B/E Aerospace will rely on Verizon Business for Dedicated Internet, CPE (customer premises equipment), Net Conferencing and advanced voice services. Fiserv, Inc., a leading provider of information management systems and services to the financial and health benefits industries, added Verizon Ethernet access to its nationwide Private IP networking capabilities.
Internationally, Verizon Business' new customers include Leaf International, a confectionery producer, and Crystal Group, one of the biggest garment manufacturers in Hong Kong. Leaf International contracted for communications infrastructure and services across 28 sites in Europe, including Verizon Business Private IP as well as Internet access and voice. Crystal Group selected Verizon Business based on Verizon's global coverage and flexibility. Longstanding customers who renewed business or signed new contracts include Acer and IBM.
Information Services and International:
In December 2005, Verizon announced that it is exploring divesting Verizon Information Services (VIS) through a spin-off, sale or other strategic transaction. However, since this process is still ongoing, VIS' results of operations, financial position and cash flows remain in continuing operations. In April 2006, Verizon announced that definitive agreements were reached to sell its Verizon International interests in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. Since Verizon committed to the divestitures after the end of the first quarter 2006, the operations are included in the International segment as continuing operations for the first quarter 2006.
VIS' first-quarter operating revenues were $837 million compared with $881 million in the first quarter of 2005, a 5.0 percent decline, primarily driven by reductions in domestic print advertising revenue.
In the first quarter, VIS' domestic online directory and search service, SuperPages.com, achieved revenue growth of 7.1 percent compared with the first quarter of 2005, and Internet yellow pages searches increased 81.8 percent over the same period.
Verizon International's first-quarter revenues of $697 million represented an increase of 34.8 percent from the first quarter 2005. The increase primarily reflected the impact from the sale of directory publishing rights in Puerto Rico.
Verizon International's first-quarter segment income was $439 million, compared with $351 million in the first quarter 2005. This increase of $88 million, or 25.1 percent, was primarily driven by the sale of directory publishing rights in Puerto Rico.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), a Dow 30 company, is a leader in delivering broadband and other communication innovations to wireline and wireless customers. Verizon operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving 53 million customers nationwide; one of the most expansive wholly-owned global IP networks; and one of the nation's premier wireline networks, serving mass market and wholesale customers. Based in New York, Verizon has a diverse workforce of more than 250,000 and generates annual consolidated operating revenues of approximately $90 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.
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NOTE: This news release contains statements about expected future events and financial results that are forward-looking and subject to risks and uncertainties. For those statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The following important factors could affect future results and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements: materially adverse changes in economic and industry conditions and labor matters, including workforce levels and labor negotiations, and any resulting financial and/or operational impact, in the markets served by us or by companies in which we have substantial investments; material changes in available technology; technology substitution; an adverse change in the ratings afforded our debt securities by nationally accredited ratings organizations; the final results of federal and state regulatory proceedings concerning our provision of retail and wholesale services and judicial review of those results; the effects of competition in our markets; the timing, scope and financial impacts of our deployment of fiber-to-the-premises broadband technology; the ability of Verizon Wireless to continue to obtain sufficient spectrum resources; changes in our accounting assumptions that regulatory agencies, including the SEC, may require or that result from changes in the accounting rules or their application, which could result in an impact on earnings; the timing of the closings of the sales of our Latin American and Caribbean properties; and the extent and timing of our ability to obtain revenue enhancements and cost savings following our business combination with MCI, Inc.
Related Documents:
Verizon 1Q Earnings Charts: http://newscenter.verizon.com/relatives/19873.xls
DD :Service providers spending nearly 40% of capex on triple play
CAMPBELL , California , April 27, 2006—Service providers around the globe see triple play services not merely as a means of increasing top-line revenue, but as a means of self-preservation, says a new study by Infonetics Research. Network operators are redefining and realigning themselves to be the one-stop shop for all things digital for residential and enterprise subscribers, and they believe triple play services will give them the competitive edge they need to succeed.
Take as evidence the fact that North American, European, and Asia Pacific service providers participating in the study (Service Provider Plans for IP Triple Play) report that on average nearly 40% of their capital expenditures were spent on triple play network equipment in 2005.
The majority of service providers in the study plan to further increase capex spending in the next 12 months on IPTV equipment, broadband CPE, broadband aggregation equipment, and voice over broadband equipment, and they expect revenue growth in all areas of triple play services in the next 12 months.
And a big chunk of revenue it is: The average percent of total company revenue from triple play services ranges from 43% to 48% between 2005 and 2007. (Infonetics interviewed a mix of large incumbent providers and smaller, more focused providers; for the large providers triple play revenue represents a much lower percentage of total revenue.)
“With nearly 40% of their capex budgets going to triple play service infrastructure, service providers are sending a clear message that the combination of voice, data, and video services is a long-term differentiator for them,” said Jeff Heynen, directing analyst at Infonetics Research. “Carriers are demanding complete interoperability, full standards compliance, and an open and flexible architecture from their suppliers to ensure the content and services they provide will work right out of the box and far into the future.”
IP voice is a big draw for triple play providers, but it’s video that’s really the newest, most exciting, and most technically challenging part of triple play services, and IPTV is where all the action is. In fact, all but one of Infonetics’ service provider respondents already offer IPTV, and that one offers it by 2007.
Sample Findings
The top 2 drivers for respondent service providers deploying triple play services are 1) increased broadband revenue per user and 2) new revenue streams
58% of respondent service providers rate vendor interoperability a key technical challenge when rolling out triple play services
The most pressing business challenge triple play service providers face is securing broadcast and on-demand video content; acquiring content is also a challenge
iTV (interactive TV) is the fastest growing video service offered by service providers, bringing Internet capabilities directly to the TV screen, including instant messaging, shop at home, click to call and click to purchase capabilities, and, most significantly, online gaming services.
2/3 will deploy IP/Ethernet DSLAMs by 2007
67% rate low cost very important when considering IP set top box features
Though more respondents currently use Cisco for their triple play aggregation, when it comes to unaided brand awareness for triple play infrastructure providers, Alcatel leads Cisco, and Microsoft is third
Infonetics’ triple play study examines the trends, drivers, barriers, strategies, and implementation plans of North American, European, and Asian services providers offering triple play services, and includes their product expenditures , preferred manufacturers and products, services offered, technology choices, and more.
Infonetics also offers an IPTV Equipment forecast, including subscriber, revenue, and capex projections through 2009.
Download sample data at www.info.infonetics.com. For sales, contact Larry Howard, vice president, at larry@infonetics.com or +1 (408) 583-3335.
Infonetics Research (www.infonetics.com) is the premier international market research and consulting firm specializing in data networking and telecom. We provide a complete view of the market through constant interaction with equipment manufacturers, service providers, end-users, chip and component manufacturers, sales channels, and the financial community. We offer quarterly market share and forecasting, end-user survey research, service provider survey research, and service provider capex analysis.
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DD :Understanding IPTVComplete
The recipe for success of IPTVComplete requires a combination of resources between two companies that will provide the full scope of Internet Protocol Television for both the consumer and the broadband provider. Eagle Broadband will bring its massive IP video content rights, expertise in service delivery, and IPTV-ready set top boxes to the table as a perfect complement to the globally distributed satellite transport network infrastructure offered by the France Telecom subsidiary, GlobeCast.
Benefits for Providers
The service simplifies the process of adding quality IP video to existing voice and data pipelines for incumbent and new broadband providers to complete the triple-play (voice, data, and video) package. The triple-play bundle is developing a positive reputation within the telecommunications industry. Providers who offer the voice, data, and video package have experienced an increase in subscription rates, reduction customer churn, and generation of higher average revenue per user.
IPTVComplete offers a more profitable services deployment model that reduces time, effort and cost. Any location within the United States (including telephone companies, municipalities, universities, and real estate developers) that is ready for distribution over their existing broadband networks can receive an IPTV video. Broadband providers need only pay two simple fees to provide reliable delivery of IP video to the customer; one fee collected on a monthly basis, the other fee accumulated on a pay-per-subscriber scale. The flexibility of this financial model will reduce on-going operational expenses and prevent dependency on large, up-front capital outflow.
Provider-Oriented Features:
Full-Function IP Video Head-end
Head-end Design, Integration & Installation
Content Aggregation & Encryption
Satellite Distribution & Transport
STBs & Middleware
Highlights for Consumers
The IPTV package created by Eagle Broadband and GlobeCast amasses the largest collection of standard, premium and high definition television programming, video-on-demand, pay per view and digital music available in America with full IP multicast video content encryption and digital rights management for distribution to homes with IP set top boxes utilizing fiber, DSL and other private IP network connections.
Consumer-Oriented Features:
200+ Channels of Programming
Pay-Per-View & VOD
IP Encapsulation
Digital Music & HD Channels
24/7 Customer Service, Network Monitoring & Tech Support
DD :IPTV Must Win Consumer Praise
IPTV is the new kid on the block and it must prove itself to the masses and must surpass established digital broadcast methods. Drawing the consumer away from conventional digital broadcasting will require a substantial effort.
Applications are crucial in defining IPTV's precedence over conventional digital television. Although the implementation of supplementary features will take and require a considerable investment of both time and money, taking these risks will allow this technology to prevail.
Companies, such as Accedo in Sweden, focus on entertainment applications. The consumer currently controls only the output of the television. Accedo entertainment software in an IPTV set-top box equipped television will allow active participation in games, karaoke, comics and quizzes.
DD 4:IPTV - A Look From The Outside - Part 4
The Future of IPTV
The forecast by market professionals is by the year 2007 there will be more than 200 million digital TV homes subscribers with 25% global market penetration. Worldwide subscribers to cable VOD (video on demand) services will increase from about 5 million at the end of 2003, to almost 14 million in 2007. Broadband penetration in the United States and Europe will grow from 25 million in 2002 to 290 million in 2008. By 2008, 20 million homes worldwide will subscribe to IPTV services.
What does this mean? Quite simply that IPTV is emerging and will available to you in just a few years if not sooner. For those businesses implementing IPTV it will provide a means of deploying interactive content and meetings unlike anything previously available on such a large scale. For the consumer it will provide a interactive experience unlike anything they have known as the technology evolves and becomes wide-spread. The cable companies providing both television broadcasting and broadband services will have new competition as the communication companies normally offering only broadband services will now be able to broadcast television and live video. The level of user interactivity will also increase as IPTV emerges and evolves - blending with technologies associated with internet access. Think of watching your favorite television and every program, movie, and advertisement will have hyperlinks for more information - while being able to send and receive email or text messages to friends and family.
Video-on-demand and two-way interactivity for applications such as home shopping, TV banking and gambling are already being deployed. This is not your MSN® TV services, but a whole new technology of the future!
DD 3:IPTV - A Look From The Outside
IPTV is an emerging technology at the time this is being written. Both the software and hardware required for broadcasting IPTV is in it's infancy when looking at the "big picture". It is predicted that by 2008, 20 million homes worldwide will subscribe to IPTV services.
IPTV Hardware and Software Technology
Some of the hardware developers worth mentioning are Cisco, Amino Communications, Microsoft, Kreatel Communications, and HUMAX. Cisco and Microsoft are working on IPTV server solutions for broadcasting IPTV video and content to the end user or consumer.
Continued ...
DD 2 :IPTV - A Look From The Outside
IPTV is an emerging technology at the time this is being written. Both the software and hardware required for broadcasting IPTV is in it's infancy when looking at the "big picture". It is predicted that by 2008, 20 million homes worldwide will subscribe to IPTV services.
IPTV Hardware and Software Technology
Some of the hardware developers worth mentioning are Cisco, Amino Communications, Microsoft, Kreatel Communications, and HUMAX. Cisco and Microsoft are working on IPTV server solutions for broadcasting IPTV video and content to the end user or consumer.
Continued ...
IPTV - A Look From The Outside
DD 1: IPTV is an emerging technology at the time this is being written. Both the software and hardware required for broadcasting IPTV is in it's infancy when looking at the "big picture". It is predicted that by 2008, 20 million homes worldwide will subscribe to IPTV services.
IPTV Hardware and Software Technology
Some of the hardware developers worth mentioning are Cisco, Amino Communications, Microsoft, Kreatel Communications, and HUMAX. Cisco and Microsoft are working on IPTV server solutions for broadcasting IPTV video and content to the end user or consumer.
Continued ...
IPTV - A Look From The Outside
DD 1: IPTV is an emerging technology at the time this is being written. Both the software and hardware required for broadcasting IPTV is in it's infancy when looking at the "big picture". It is predicted that by 2008, 20 million homes worldwide will subscribe to IPTV services.
IPTV Hardware and Software Technology
Some of the hardware developers worth mentioning are Cisco, Amino Communications, Microsoft, Kreatel Communications, and HUMAX. Cisco and Microsoft are working on IPTV server solutions for broadcasting IPTV video and content to the end user or consumer.
Continued ...