Telco IPTV steps into the limelight

摘要

For major telephone carriers, 2005 looks like the year when IP television (IPTV) deployments will begin in earnest. While pioneers like Italy's FastWeb and Canada's SaskTel have had IP-based video-on demand systems for over a year, other major carriers like BT, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica, SBC, Verizon, and BellSouth, have held back. Now, however, these carriers have a new sense of urgency about getting into the game. IPTV technology has now advanced to the point where major carriers can expect rapid and reliable deployments, but customer demand and competitive pressures are the real drivers for IPTV. According to In-Stat/MDR, the number of subscribers to telco-provided IPTV services worldwide will rise from two million in 2004 to around 19 million in 2007. Multimedia Research Group's 2004 IPTV Business Case εt Global Forecast report forecasts that revenue from IPTV services worldwide will climb from $1.15 billion in 2004 to $10.21 billion in 2007.