Phone firms gear up to launch IPTV

MUMBAI: Hate it when you can’t pause a television show for a quick snack break, or fast-forward a movie re-run to your favourite scene? Fret not, for IPTV is coming.

Internet protocol television (IPTV), or TV that works on video signals received via the Net using a set-top box, will allow all this and more. Using IPTV, you can watch your daily fix of TV soaps just when you want: pause, rewind, or re-play, whichever way you like it.

The next big thing on the global arena of television viewing, IPTV is gradually making its way into India. Telephony service providers like BSNL, Reliance, Tata, Bharti, and VSNL are likely to start offering IP-based services like IPTV soon.

Satya Gupta, adviser (converged networks), Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), told DNA that BSNL will provide IPTV by the end of the current financial year.

Though charges are yet to be decided, the service will start in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, and Bangalore first, and, depending on its success, be expanded to other cities.

GS Grover, BSNL’s commercial director, confirmed that the technology will soon be available, though he expressed some doubt about its popularity. “We do not know whether Indian viewers will warm up to this concept,” he said.

But industry experts are certain that IP-based services will have many takers. Internet broadband costs in India are among the lowest worldwide. An MTNL broadband connection currently costs Rs 199 a month while a BSNL connection comes at Rs 250.

The number of connections is also rising and is expected to cross 6,90,000 by the yearend. A rapid increase in the number of broadband connections is considered vital for IPTV’s success.

The government has set a target of building a base of 20 million broadband users by 2010. This will also increase the numbers of users of IPTV, which has been touted by Union Telecommunications Minister Dayanidhi Maran as the biggest revenue generator in the entertainment sector in coming years.

According to analyst agency Informa Telecoms and Media, about 25.9 million IPTV subscribers will generate more than $10 billion in revenue globally by the end of this decade.

Consequently, many domestic players are eager make an entry. Reliance, sources said, could launch it by April 2006 starting with the metros. Company officials were unavailable for comment, when contacted by DNA.

Charles Antony, managing director, Tata Teleservices Ltd, said: “We will start offering IPTV by October 2006. We already have a tie-up with US-based Viva Television for this.”