Special Report
Regional developments
in IPTV services
MICHAEL LANTZ, CEO of Accedo Broadband, reports.
Western Europe - aggressive telco triple play
I
PTV is finally coming of age as the fourth are digital and Western Europe is the world leader in IPTV
distribution technology for TV beside only a tiny deployments and will maintain that lead in
satellite, cable and terrestrial distribution. fraction or about the coming years. The high quality broadband
It is becoming clearer that developments 1% of the total networks and very aggressive investment
for IPTV will be significantly different in the market is actually plans by the major incumbent telcos in the
various regions, both in terms of size of IPTV. However, the Western European markets have made it
deployment and in terms of business and growth of possible to offer high quality IPTV services to
technical approach. Michael Lantz is the CEO broadband large parts of the population. Spain, France
of Accedo Broadband, leading IPTV Internet access, and Italy are leading in terms of number of
application and content provider. which will pass deployed households, while markets with more
400 million competition in the TV distribution market, like
Maturing technology and market subscribers in UK and Germany, are growing more slowly.
2008, provides However, the market offering is very similar
IPTV, the distribution of quality video to technical all over Western Europe with very aggressive
set-top boxes in a broadband network, has possibilities for a price strategies focused on triple play, ie.
been around for about 10 years, but it is only cost-efficient
Michael Lantz.
phone, broadband and TV from the same
in the last 24 months that we have seen the distribution technology. Of course, TV provider. Telecom operators have realised that
technology mature enough for cost-efficient channel distribution will remain important, a triple play customer shows significantly
mass market roll-out. It is currently driven by but due to the underlying broadband lower churn than a customer only having one
telecom operators and ISPs wanting to add technology it is possible to use the TV or two services. In Western Europe,
additional revenue and customer loyalty media for new types of services to build deregulation of the telecom markets and
through triple play services. The revolution in value for consumers and broadcasters alike. unbundling of the local loop have led to
consumer electronics and the transition to True on demand capabilities with access to aggressive competition from low cost players.
digital TV broadcast have added increased theoretically any content item available for IPTV is a significantly more complex service
momentum to the fledgling IPTV market as users at the time they want it is an to deliver than broadband Internet and has
many consumers are reviewing their home TV important service differentiator. Another proven to be key to the large operators
technologies, and have a higher likelihood of area, where Accedo Broadband is active, is strategies to maintain dominance in their
switching to new technologies. This year, we in the possibility of creating new types of respective market. The rapid growth is
have already witnessed large growth in many interactive services. Personalised expected to continue in the coming years with
markets, with the worldwide market reaching applications, where users can get access to France Telecom, Telefonica and Telecom Italia
about 20 million subscribing households. This their favourite Internet services such as being most aggressive.
growth and the general market development photo sharing and online gaming, provide
will continue in the coming years, but the the perfect marriage between the TV Central and Eastern Europe - immature pay-
differences between the regions of the world experience and Internet technology. Such TV markets
are huge. This is due both to underlying new services will both create more
economic growth and for demographic reasons, acceptance among consumers for the new Further east in Europe, the situation is
as well as to the current competitive situation technology and create possibilities of slightly different, even if some markets show
and quality of broadband networks. This article adding new revenues for service providers the same behaviour as Western European
will briefly touch upon the regional differences and broadcasters. These new prospects will markets. The main difference though is that
and how they will change over time. make IPTV the most important and largest the pay-TV market in the Central and Eastern
TV distribution technology within the next European markets is less developed than in
The long-term prospects for IPTV globally ten years. The winners will be the service Western Europe, creating a large green field age IPTV 18.
are good providers and the broadcasters who make market for IPTV. Few households currently
use of the new technology to create the best have pay-TV services and consumers
The global TV market is huge, with some personalised services, allowing the generally have access to fewer channels, both
2 billion active TV sets according to market consumer to engage with them, their brand local and international. This has generally
estimates. Only a fraction of these TV sets experience, and offerings. meant that the roll-out speed and investment
Continued on P
guide2iptv iptv 16 september 2008
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