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Tuesday
Friday 21st December
BSkyB forced to reduce ITV stake?
Prisa bids for Sogecable
Italy’s 1.500 digital TV channels earn E2.5 billion
Viacom signs Microsoft ad deal
Vivendi aims to own all of Neuf by 2009
Web TV gets more eyes
Rapture appeals Ofcom's EPG ruling
Ericsson acquires HyC
Channel 4 fined by Ofcom
PBS content alliance with Joost and DirecTV
RingNett expands IPTV reach with Envivio
HD/Blu-Ray price slash
BSkyB forced to reduce ITV stake?
From Colin Mann in LondonThe UK’s anti-trust watchdog, the Competition Commission has recommended that BSkyB should be forced to sell some of the 17.9 per cent stake in ITV it acquired in November 2006. The regulator has recommended to Business Secretary John Hutton that BSkyB should either sell all of its shares or cut its stake to below 7.5 per cent and promise not to take a seat on ITV's board. Hutton has until 29 January to decide what action to take on the report's findings.
The Commission suggested that BSkyB's stake would be big enough to allow it to block special resolutions and that it "would limit ITV's strategic options, for example its ability to raise funds". Concern was also expressed as to the effect on programming. "Given its interests as a competitor and despite its interests as a shareholder, we believed that BSkyB would have the incentive to reduce ITV's investment in content," concluded the report.
A statement from BSkyB said: "The next phase of this process lies with the Secretary of State. We will be making representations to him in due course." ITV welcomed the publication of the report and said that it awaited "a final decision by the Secretary of State in due course".
BSkyB contends that it has not sought to influence ITV and when it bought that stake in November 2006 it did so as an investment. It spent £940 million (E1,300) buying the stake, but the Commission suggested that it was unlikely that BSkyB would have chosen to invest in ITV "purely as an investment vehicle," and dismissed BSkyB's argument that it had bought the shares because they were cheap. It bought the shares at £1.35. Wednesday’s closing price of £0.83, would mean BSkyB would incur a significant loss if forced to sell.
Prisa bids for Sogecable
From David Del Valle in Madrid
The Spanish media group Prisa, owner of newspaper El Pais, has launched a bid for the rest of Sogecable, Spain's largest pay-TV group, that it does not already own, valuing the pay-TV operator, owner of Digital DTH platform Digital Plus and premium channel Canal Plus, at E3.8 billion.
Prisa already has 50.03 per cent of Sogecable. Other major shareholders are Telefonica with around 17 per cent and France's Vivendi with about 4.8 per cent.At E27.98 per share, Prisa is paying a premium of 5.6 per cent to Sogecable's closing market price but nearly a quarter less than the 37 euros per share it paid for a 20 per cent stake in November 2005.
"Prisa's intention is for Sogecable to be at the core of its audiovisual activities," the firm said in a statement. Market rumour has pointed to Prisa hiving off Sogecable's pay-TV division Digital Plus and keeping its free-to-air TV channel Cuatro, which has been gaining market share.
A legal battle over broadcasting rights for Spanish soccer games with unlisted TV firm Mediapro has bruised Sogecable's shares over the latter half of this year, and Prisa has taken advantage of that to build up its stake.
Italy’s 1.500 digital TV channels earn E2.5 billion
From Branislav Pekic in RomeThere were nearly 1.500 digital TV channels available in Italy and in 2006 they earned E2.5 billion, according to the New TV Observatory of the School of Management of Milan’s Polytechnic.
The Observatory divided the channels into three categories, on the basis of the six platforms currently available (DTT, IPTV, Sat-TV, Web-TV, Mobile TV on the DVB-H network and on the mobile network): 444 can be received via the TV set (Sofa TV), 812 on the Internet (Desktop TV) and 151 on the mobile phone (Hand TV).
Despite the increasing number of digital channels available via the Internet, more than 95 per cent of the turnover is realised by Sofa TV’s, which in numerical terms represent only 32 per cent of the digital channels. The concentration is even more evident taking into account the fact that 92 per cent of the turnover of Sofa TVs is realised by satellite TV channels, primarily those aired by Sky Italia.
Although it is difficult to estimate the turnover of the Desktop TVs and Hand TVs, the head of the New TV Observatory, Andrea Rangone, reckoned that it amounted to several tens of millions of Euros in 2006, with a certain prevalence of Hand TVs. The observatory has identified more than 800 channels on the Web, but considers that little more than 500 have an adequate offer.
Viacom signs Microsoft ad dealMTV owner Viacom has signed a $500 million advertising and content deal with Microsoft in a move that will see the entertainment company drop Google's DoubleClick.
The five-year deal will see Microsoft's Atlas system replace DoubleClick to deliver ads across Viacom's extensive range of US websites. Microsoft will also have the right to sell unsold display ads on Viacom's websites on a revenue share basis, in a deal unveiled in the US yesterday.
The software giant will license video and audio from Viacom properties including MTV, Comedy Central and Paramount Pictures for use on the likes of MSN and Xbox 360.
Separately, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) confirmed that it: would not block the proposed Google-DoubleClick merger, despite earlier complaints raised by competitors and privacy advocates.
FTC regulators had been reviewing the proposed merger for months for possible antitrust violations, after Google announced plans in April to acquire the online ad serving company.
"After carefully reviewing the evidence, we have concluded that Google's proposed acquisition of DoubleClick is unlikely to substantially lessen competition" in the online advertising space, the commissioners wrote in their majority statement.
Vivendi aims to own all of Neuf by 2009Vivendi’s telecoms arm SFR aims to complete the offer for the entire share capital of alternative operator Neuf Cegetel by the end of 2008, said the unit's chief executive Frank Esser.
SFR, which already owns 40.5 per cent of Neuf, announced a draft deal to acquire the entire 19.5 per cent stake held by French diversified group Louis Dreyfus, paying E34.5 per share. In a second phase, SFR will launch a buyout offer for the remaining shares at E36.5 per share.
In an interview with Agence France-Presse, Esser said the deal, which will give SFR a 45,000 km national ADSL network boasting over 3 million clients, creates 'a real competitor' for market leader France Telecom But he declined to say if he is concerned that the agreement could be blocked by national or EU regulators critical of a group combining a leading content producer, pay TV operator Canal Plus, with a distribution network such as Neuf.
An increasing number of television viewers are turning to the Internet to watch videos, films and TV episodes, according to a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive. In the past year, YouTube has extended its lead as the top site for online videos, with search engines and television networks gaining ground.
Some 65 per cent of the 2,455 U.S. adults surveyed said they have watched a video on YouTube, compared to 42 per cent at the same stage in 2006.
"Viewing videos online seems to inspire a sense of adventure, particularly among younger viewers," said company VP Joan Barten Kline.
More than one-third of viewers overall and half of those 18 to 24 said there is something they really enjoy about discovering a cool video online. "They seem to take particular pride in their finds online and share them with friends," Barten Kline added.
More than 42 per cent of YouTube viewers said they visit the site frequently, up from 33 per cent last year.
Apart from YouTube, which most people favoured because they felt it had almost every video they could find, 43 per cent said they have watched a video on a TV network Web site, followed by 35 per cent on news sites and less than 30 per cent on search engines such as Yahoo and Google.
Social networks such as MySpace and Facebook as well as music site iTunes also had a lower share of online viewers.
Online viewers said they would watch more TV episodes and full-length movies if more were available. There was less interest in viewing more amateur or user-generated videos, news and sports, according to the survey.
Rapture appeals Ofcom's EPG rulingDigital channel Rapture TV has claimed that Ofcom did not fully investigate its complaint that BSkyB overcharged for its electronic programme guide listing in an appeal against the regulator's ruling.
Rapture, which airs a mix of entertainment and extreme sports programming, originally complained to Ofcom that its annual EPG bill of £76,500 from Sky was "unduly high", given that its annual turnover was under £150,000.
The channel, run by chief executive David Henry, claimed Sky had breached its regulatory obligations by offering unfair listing terms. However, Ofcom cleared Sky of overcharging in February, saying the price had been "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory".
At the Competition Appeal Tribunal, Michael Bowsher QC, acting for Rapture, said: "The question for the tribunal is whether Ofcom did enough. Our ending point is that Ofcom did not do enough. It was happy to accept Sky's position without drilling down on what was being said."
Ericsson acquires HyCEricsson has acquired HyC Group, a leading Spanish company in TV consultancy and systems integration. The acquisition further strengthens Ericsson's position in the services and multimedia domains as a systems integrator of IPTV solutions.
The HyC acquisition follows Ericsson's acquisition of Tandberg Television, provider of advanced video compression technologies, at the beginning of the year.
Hans Vestberg, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Head of Global Services at Ericsson, says: "Multimedia and services, including IPTV and systems integration, are two strategic areas for Ericsson. I am pleased to announce this acquisition as it will strengthen our ability to support our customers in offering attractive consumer services in a fast and efficient way. HyC's skills and experience fit perfectly with our service offerings in the TV domain and our leading systems integration offering."
Channel Four has been fined £1.5 million by media watchdog Ofcom for misconduct involving phone-in competitions on popular programmes Richard and Judy and Deal or No Deal.
Viewers were urged to call a premium number after contestants had already been chosen on Richard and Judy. Deal or No Deal selected competition finalists in a way which gave later entrants less chance of winning.
Eckoh UK, the company which ran Richard and Judy's You Say, We Pay phone-in, has already been fined £150,000.
PBS content alliance with Joost and DirecTV
Media enterprise the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) will begin featuring select full-length programming on Joost, the Internet television service. At launch, the PBS offering will include popular series, such as History Detectives and Scientific American Frontiers, as well as specials from PBS’ award-winning ‘Empires’ collection.Separately, satellite operator DirecTV revealed a deal to carry Public Television Stations in HD, thanks to an agreement reached with the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). DirecTV viewers will have access to other Public Television content as well.
DirecTV will include the local HD feeds of Public Television stations in its HD rollout plans beginning in 2008. DirecTV currently offers local HD programming in 68 markets, representing more than 72 per cent of U.S. TV households.
DirecTV, APTS and PBS also will work together to develop new video on demand offerings to make available local and national public television programming to DirecTV’s customers anytime they want it. In addition, DirecTV will carry two national standard-definition channels of Public Television programming, further expanding its commitment to high-quality educational programming.
RingNett expands IPTV reach with EnvivioEnvivio, technology provider of IP video convergence encoding solutions, is providing a Convergence Generation video headend to Norwegian ISP RingNett AS to enable the roll out of its Digital-TV IPTV service across its ADSL2+ infrastructure. RingNett’s Digital-TV service is already available to test customers subscribing to its optical fibre-based GPON high speed Internet delivery service. By also supporting an Envivio MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) encoding platform, RingNett can offer the same IPTV content both over xDSL and FTTx without compromising video quality.
HD/Blu-Ray price slashManufacturers of high-definition DVD players are slashing prices in the US in an urgent pre-Christmas attempt to break the deadlock between two rival formats. The cost of key manufacturing components for the Sony-supported Blu-ray players and Toshiba’s rival HD-DVD hardware will fall below $150 early in 2008, according to analysts at Understanding & Solutions entertainment consultancy,
Thursday 20th December
Pace acquires Philips STB unit
FCC rules on video programming diversity
Ofcom digital progress report
TV over UGC for online viewers
Telefónica launches Terra TV
Telco TV boom benefits headend vendors
BBC to lose funding in digital future?
Vivendi in Canal Plus for long haul
Scott to Digital UK
Oz digital switch by 2013
IAC Inks and Brightcove Internet video initiatives
ESPN, CBS and FOX bowl onto mobile TV
Edgeware powers Telia Stofa’s Zaptor
Pace acquires Philips STB unitPhilips Electronics has reached an agreement in principle to sell its Set-Top Boxes (STB) and Connectivity Solutions (CS) businesses to UK-based technology provider Pace Micro Technology.
Philips will sell the businesses to Pace in exchange for 70 million Pace shares. Philips will retain 22.5 per cent of the enlarged share capital of Pace. The deal is classified as a 'reverse takeover' under the Listing Rules by virtue of its size and is conditional on the approval of Pace shareholders, the relevant regulatory authorities and Philips' workers council. The proposed transaction values the business at up to E95.0 million (£68.0m).
The Philips STB and CS Business has long-established relationships with a number of key additional payTV operators in multiple geographies, major IPTV customers and a strong international retail business. As part of this transaction, Pace will be entitled to utilise the Philips brand in retail distribution for an agreed range of products for the next three years. The combined company will rank third in the global STB market behind Thomson and Motorola. The 2006 acquisition of Amstrad by BSkyB to develop next-generation set top box technology had been seen as putting pressure on Pace, which remains a supplier to BSkyB.
Philippe Alcaras, Business Unit leader, Philips Home Networks, said the rapidly changing dynamics of the markets in which the STB and CS businesses operated would inevitably culminate in further industry consolidation. Neil Gaydon, Chief Executive Officer of Pace said there was a strong strategic fit from customer, product, geographic, culture and scale perspectives, with minimal customer overlap giving the combined group a significantly enhanced technological position.
"The Acquisition brings capabilities in IPTV, terrestrial, retail and connectivity products, which will extend the strong position we have built through relationships with leading payTV operators. We also believe there is potential for improved efficiencies by utilising the operating model and business structure we have built at Pace over the last two years, " he concluded.
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FCC rules on video programming diversity
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted rules to promote video programming diversity by ensuring new video programmers can enter and compete in the video market. An Order adopted by the Commission sets the number of subscribers a cable operator may serve at 30 per cent nationwide. In a further notice also adopted, the Commission is seeking comment on vertical ownership limits and cable and broadcast attribution rules. The FCC suggests that the action will increase competition in the multichannel video programming market and provide consumers with greater programming choices and diversity.
At the time of the 1992 Cable Act, Congress directed the Commission to conduct proceedings to establish reasonable limits on the number of subscribers a cable operator may serve – a ‘horizontal limit’ – and the number of channels a cable operator may devote to its affiliated programming networks – a ‘vertical’ or ‘channel occupancy’ limit.
The 30 per cent limit, set first in 1993 and modified in 1999, was challenged by Time Warner in 2001. The DC Circuit Court then remanded it back to the FCC seeking further justification. That remand has been pending six years at the Commission.
The 30 per cent cable horizontal ownership limit set by the Commission is designed to ensure that no single cable operator can create a barrier to a video programming network’s entry into the market or cause a video programming network to exit the market simply by declining to carry the network. In devising a limit to achieve this goal, the Commission first determined the minimum number of subscribers a network needs in order to survive in the marketplace, and then estimated the percentage of subscribers a network is likely to serve once it secures a carriage contract.
Separately, the FCC voted to ease restrictions on media ownership despite strong opposition from some lawmakers who threatened to block the plan on the grounds that it may harm competition. It voted to allow companies to own both a newspaper and a television station in the top US markets, giving media groups the potential to broaden their grip in 20 cities.
"(This) order strikes a balance between preserving the values that make up the foundation of our media regulations while ensuring those regulations keep apace with the marketplace of today," said FCC chairman Kevin Martin. The three-to-two ruling by the commission amends a 32-year-old ban on cross-ownership in the newspaper and broadcast industries.
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According to Ofcom figures, Freeview achieved near-record sales of 2.4 million digital television receivers in the third quarter of 2007. The media regulator's quarterly digital TV progress report, for the three months to the end of September, showed that 361,700 households that had been analogue-only went digital during the period. This was down from 944,200 in the previous quarter.
Digital terrestrial TV service Freeview continued to rapidly grow its potential audience, posting its second highest quarter of DTT set top box and digital TV set sales, up 70 per cent on the same period last year.
However, increasingly Freeview is tapping into the market for consumers looking for a second digital TV set at home. The number of Freeview digital receivers used with secondary TV sets raced ahead of the number used as the primary set for the first time. Of the 19.4 million Freeview-enabled sets in the UK, 10.1 million are now secondary sets compared to 9.3 million primary sets.
Overall, 85.1 per cent of UK households now receive digital television services on their main set - via Freeview, digital satellite or cable TV - up from 84 per cent at the end of June and 80.5 per cent at the end of March.
The number of multichannel households, which also includes Virgin Media analogue cable homes, has reached 86.1 per cent. Ofcom said that digital terrestrial television platform Freeview spearheaded the upward trend in the quarter to the end of September, accounting for 57 per cent of the net growth in digital TV homes, or 193,000 sets.
Freeview is now the primary digital TV provider in 36.6 per cent of UK homes. Satellite is at 35.9 per cent, with 3.9 per cent of that from free-to-view satellite, and cable is at 13.4 per cent.
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TV over UGC for online viewers
According to ChoiceStream’s 2007 Survey of Viewer Trends in TV and Online Video, 65 per cent of consumers who watch video on their computers, mobile devices or digital media players are watching professionally-produced TV programming, including network- and cable-produced shows, news and sports. This number exceeds the39 per cent of consumers watching user-generated video by 67 per cent and is expected to increase over the next six months as traditional TV viewers begin to shift their viewing behaviour towards other devices.In addition, the survey found that when searching on a computer, mobile device or media player, 62 per cent of consumers say that it takes at least a few minutes to find something interesting to watch. The discovery process is similarly frustrating for consumers watching programming on their TV sets with 72 per cent of all television viewers indicating that it takes at least a few minutes to find programming of interest.
The difficulty finding shows and movies to watch on the TV set is clearly costing TV service providers lost revenue as 43 per cent of consumers indicate that they would watch more Video-on-Demand and Pay-Per-View if they could find more content of interest. This number is up 19 per cent from 2006.
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Telefónica launches Terra TV
From David Del Valle in MadridThe Spanish telco company is launching Terra TV, a free-of-charge VoD service through the Internet, financed by ad revenues, that will allow users to watch TV programmes, specific Internet-adapted content (similar to MySpace TV's minisodes) and share content with others.
Running at 1Mbps speed, the service is aimed at complementing Telefónica’s IPTV service Imagenio, with around 500,000 subscribers, becoming a new window for TV content with a potential reach today of 9 million users.
Separately, Telefónica has named its head of planning, Julio Linares, to become chief executive officer. The move is intended to allow Chairman Cesar Alierta to delegate day-to-day operating responsibilities to Linares so that he can focus on strategy.
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Telco TV boom benefits headend vendors
The telco TV market is quickly adding new deployments and subscribers, which is boosting headend equipment sales as each deployment requires at least one headend, reports research firm In-Stat. Growth in the ranks of subscribers means more revenue from licence, service, and support fees for vendors of middleware, content protection, and on-demand platforms, the high-tech market, according to In-Stat’s study - Telco TV Headends Moving to the Upgrade Phase.
"As more headends are built, the market for broadcast TV
content-processing equipment will turn from newly built headends to headend upgrades," says Michelle Abraham, In-Stat analyst. "Many of these upgrades will be the addition or replacement of encoding equipment as more channels are added and encoding technology improves. The launch of new HD channels will be a driving factor for additional encoding equipment."In-Stat findings suggest that the worldwide telco TV headend market will reach $732 million in 2011; broadcast content processing equipment revenue will stagnate, while middleware, content protection, and on-demand content will continue to Rise; a video-on-demand (VOD) service has become a requirement for many telcos when they deploy telco TV, which has improved the market for on-demand equipment vendors.
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BBC to lose funding in digital future?Funding received by the BBC via the licence fee could soon be diminished following possible reforms ordered by media regulator Ofcom. One option under review could lead to the licence fee being sliced up so that money could be channelled to other organisations to spend on "public service" web and television ventures. Though the BBC would retain the lion's share of the levy, any reduction would have profound implications for the corporation.
Ofcom believes it has to consider a range of options to avert a crisis in public service broadcasting at a time of radical change. Insiders believe a new means of allocating public money via a newly created body could entice innovation, but would prefer to leave the government to decide how to finance it.
The regulator, while committed to maintaining a strong BBC, is also keen to find new ways of delivering public service content to a generation growing up with mobile phones, broadband Internet and a vast array of media choices. The idea is among several being considered by Ofcom as part of a review, which will feed into a government review of the sector and new legislation.
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Vivendi in Canal Plus for long haulThe chief executive of Vivendi has dismissed renewed talk on that his group may sell pay-TV unit Canal Plus. The statement followed speculation that the French media giant might exit Canal Plus in order to buy telecom operator Neuf Cegetel and so avoid possible competition issues.
Vivendi has a 56 per cent stake in mobile operator SFR, which already has 40.5 per cent of Neuf Cegetel.
"We are very attached to Canal Plus, which still has years of growth rationalisation and improvement of profitability ahead of it," said Chief Executive Jean-Bernard Levy. He added that Vivendi, which owns 65 per cent of Canal Plus, would eventually own 100 percent of the company as provided for under an agreement with Canal Plus's main shareholders.
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Scott to Digital UKFormer Channel 4 managing director David Scott has been appointed chief executive of analogue TV switchover body Digital UK. Scott will take up the post, which puts him in overall charge of the switchover programme, when current director Ford Ennals leaves in February 2008. Scott was a member of the original management team which launched Channel 4 in 1982.
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Oz digital switch by 2013Australia’s Broadband, Communications and Digital Economy minister Stephen Conroy has ordered that free-to-air television be broadcast only in a digital signal in all major cities by 2009 with a final switch-over across the nation by 2013. The Howard government before the 2004 election had proposed a date of 2008 for the switch
Conroy said moving the date for digital television in the major metropolitan markets to 2009 was practical with 2008 looming so quickly and so many consumers sticking with their old televisions.
"This is clearly an impossible date for both viewers and industry. The Government has inherited a digital take up rate of approximately 30 per cent and will now work with industry to ensure that all Australians are prepared for digital television,’’ he said.
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IAC Inks and Brightcove Internet video initiativesInternet TV platform Brightcove, and IAC have announced a wide-ranging agreement giving IAC businesses the opportunity to launch comprehensive Internet video initiatives with Brightcove. Ticketmaster, Citysearch and 23/6 are among the first IAC brands to utilise Brightcove's platform to create, manage, publish, distribute and monetise video on the Web.
Under the terms of the agreement, any IAC business can use Brightcove's on-demand platform to publish video content to their websites, manage syndication and viral distribution, integrate advertising, and launch independent or integrated consumer media campaigns.
IAC has been a minority stakeholder in Brightcove since December 2006, and today's announcement deepens the existing relationship between the two companies.
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ESPN, CBS and FOX bowl onto mobile TVVerizon, US leading wireless provider, and MediaFLO, a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm, have teamed up to bring fans full-length coverage of 24 American football ‘bowl’ games, kicking off with ESPN Mobile TV’s telecast of the Poinsettia Bowl. Coverage of the 2008 bowl games will be provided by ESPN Mobile TV, CBS Mobile and FOX Mobile through V CAST Mobile TV from Verizon Wireless, a service of MediaFLO USA.
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Edgeware powers Telia Stofa’s ZaptorEdgeware has revealed that Danish cable TV operator Telia Stofa is using the Orbit 2x server system to deliver the on-demand functionality of their new Zaptor service. Edgeware’s distributed server solution enables Telia Stofa to integrate on-demand capabilities into their existing network, in a scalable and future proof architecture. The Zaptor service will offer video on-demand and time-shift TV in SD and HD quality.
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Wednesday 19th December
Ofcom pay TV concerns
IPTV equipment sales up 23% in Q3
STB manufacturers respond to increasing risks
Digital age in its infancy says CEA president
ITU releases global IPTV standards
Qwest not keen on IPTV
BT Vision and emuse IPTV Tasman browser
SK Telecom Internet-TV service
Ericsson successful MBMS tests
Channel 4 launches series on MySpace
CCTV wins 2008 Olympics
Oz pirates raided
TUS Telekom selects Envivio
AMOS Satellites adds new European deals
Ofcom pay TV concernsOfcom has raised possible concerns over competition within the UK pay TV sector. The concerns are raised in a consultation document investigating the pay TV market. Ofcom launched an investigation into the pay TV industry in March, following a submission from a group including Virgin Media. The submission came after Virgin lost access to some Sky TV channels.
The aim of the current consultation is to seek stakeholders’ views on Ofcom’s initial assessment of the operation of competition in the market and the outcome for consumers.
Ofcom said that the pay TV market had delivered "significant benefits" to consumers, but suggested that there were some warning signs, such as areas where consumer choice may be limited. But it said that recent developments, such as the emergence of new platforms and content providers, raised possible concerns.
Particular areas of concern for future regulation included whether vertically-integrated firms have the incentive to make their premium content, such as sports and movies, available to other retailers and other platform operators; whether firms are able to compete effectively at the wholesale level for premium content; and the enforcement of buy-through (the practice of requiring consumers to purchase a basic package before they are allowed to buy a premium service) at the retail level.
Ofcom has invited views and comments on its initial assessment of the operation of competition in the market and the effect on consumers. It expects to publish a further consultation in Spring 2008.
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IPTV equipment sales up 23% in Q3
After a 32 per cent jump in sales in the second quarter, worldwide IPTV equipment sales hit $682.5 million (E473.7m) in the third quarter of 2007, up 23 per cent sequentially, according to Infonetics Research’s quarterly IPTV report. Likewise, manufacturers of IP set-top boxes (STBs) saw revenue jump 35 per cent worldwide in Q3 from Q2
"IPTV, in its pure and hybrid forms, continues to grow steadily and is poised for bigger growth as operators clear regulatory hurdles, as MPEG-4 HD set-top boxes become more widely available, and as operators lock up exclusive broadcasting arrangements with professional sports leagues, movie studios, and international programmers. We expect the number of IPTV subscribers to continue growing steadily, reaching 65 million worldwide in 2010, " said Jeff Heynen, directing analyst for IPTV at Infonetics Research.
Growth in worldwide service provider revenue from IPTV services is expected to grow more than 10-fold in the 5 years between 2006 and 2010.
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STB manufacturers respond to increasing risksThe status of the STB (Set-Top Box) within pay-TV households faces significant risk from the development of two-way, digital-cable–ready TVs, media centres, and residential gateways, among others. STB manufacturers are responding in several ways according to ABI Research,
"In recent times, Comcast created a residential network gateway project, which ultimately will act as a convergence device for cable modems, digital cable receivers, and DVRs," says ABI Research analyst Paulhwa Lee. "The residential network gateway device may even include placeshifting."
STB manufacturers are adding new features, such as increased hard-disk space, DVD players, DVD burners, and home-audio solutions, which will better align STB functionality with consumer demands. Manufacturers also are attempting to improve electronic programme guides and to incorporate more video gaming and Web-based services.
"STB vendors are moving aggressively into the hybrid STB market," continues Lee. "Hybrid STBs offer a single solution to numerous possible problems caused by the multiplicity of video sources, video formats, and distribution platforms."
ABI Research forecasts that revenue from standard STB sales will decline in the period from 2008 to 2012; STB vendors initially will rely on growing markets for DBS (Digital Broadcast Satellite), IPTV (IP Television), and DTT (Digital Terrestrial Television) STBs. But according to a recent report from ABI Research, by 2010 even those sectors will be under pressure from alternative technologies introduced to facilitate ‘the connected home’; vendors must include new features and functions to revive flagging shipment numbers.
"No one video or television technology will be a ‘killer’ in the next few years," Lee expounds, "so as this market flattens in 2012, STB vendors should incorporate as many of those technologies as possible."
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Digital age in its infancy says CEA presidentThe electronics industry faces a bright future, according to Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and secretary of the World Electronics Forum.
"The main trends in the industry include big developments in the areas digitalisation, convergence, broadband, biometrics and nanotechnology," Shapiro said. "We are only in the infancy of the digital age."
According to Shapiro, The electronics industry fuels a big change and transformation in fields such as cable and satellite TV and content. "This industry makes the world a smaller place, and its jobs change lives, through teleworking and other practices. The consumption of electronics in the US is around $150 billion. The average American home has 25 electronic devices."
Shapiro estimated that every country will eventually move to digital TV. "This move is very important, as analogue TV uses a lot of spectrum compared to digital TV, and the move will free up a lot of spectrum, in a way that will contribute to future developments."
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ITU releases global IPTV standardsThe International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has confirmed the first set of global standards for IPTV. The standards were built with technical contributions from service providers and manufacturers from the information and communication technology sector.
The new standards were developed by the Focus Group on IPTV in ITU's telecommunication standardisation sector. Contained within the documents produced by the Focus Group are high-level architecture and frameworks needed by service providers to rollout IPTV services. Twenty-one documents covering IPTV requirements, architecture, quality of service, security, digital rights management, unicast and multicast, protocols, metadata, middleware and home networks will be submitted to the ITU-T Study Group charged with progressing and distributing the work.
ITU's next phase of IPTV work, IPTV-Global Standards Initiative, will centre on the speedy preparation of standards based on documents produced by FG IPTV and the detailed protocols required. The first meeting of IPTV-GSI will convene in Seoul from 15 to 22 January 2008.
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Qwest not keen on IPTVUS telco Qwest Communications will invest an extra $300 million in capital to build fibre-to-the-node networks (FTTN) to reach 1.5 million homes in 20 markets but is not planning to deliver IPTV service over those networks. Qwest Chairman and CEO Ed Mueller also promised more details about Qwest’s plans in late February of 2008 when it hosts an analysts’ day.
"Our FTTN network is not intended to deploy of IPTV," Mueller said. "We do not believe the scale and current capital and labour requirements of this type of product support this approach."
Instead, Qwest will continue to resell DirecTV satellite video service while pushing to offer high-speed data at speeds up to 20 Mb/s, Mueller said, drawing on the experience Qwest gained from building FTTN networks in Denver and Colorado Springs. Based on that experience, Qwest would expect to double the penetration of higher speed Internet service and its ARPU, Mueller said.
Mueller said other applications, such as gaming, would generate other revenues. Qwest is targeting homes within its largest 10 markets and 10 other markets that it believes can most quickly generate a return, Mueller said, instead of blanketing the markets. Investment in ’09 will depend on how the 2008 work goes, he said. Qwest will maintain "a disciplined approach" to how it expands its network, Mueller said.
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BT Vision and emuse IPTV Tasman browserBT Vision, the next-generation digital-TV service, now features a new viewer magazine banded ‘On Vision’. Designed by BT Vision, and produced and hosted by emuse, it runs in the Microsoft Mediaroom Tasman TV browser for BT Vision customers to view on screen. On Vision keeps viewers informed about the quality programming they can expect in the upcoming month and showcases new sports, movies, television and children’s programming.
On Vision is part of a deal signed earlier this year to introduce interactive advertising and sponsorship on the BT Vision IPTV platform. This is the first ever deployment of the Microsoft Tasman TV browser in the world and the first of many scheduled interactive browser applications that will launch on BT Vision over the next 12 months.
SK Telecom Internet-TV service
SK Telecom, South Korea's top mobile carrier, is planning to launch a video-on-demand TV service that can be used through any Internet operator. SK Telecom will intends to launch the service with Samsung Electronics providing set-top boxes. Detailed schedules for its launch are not yet known.
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Ericsson successful MBMS testsEricsson has successfully performed interoperability tests for its Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) solution with the leading chipset vendors. The move sets the stage for the widespread adoption of MBMS and the availability of MBMS terminals. MBMS is a flexible solution that allows operators to broadcast different forms of content in different parts of the mobile network. It helps operators to cost-effectively and quickly launch multimedia services such as entertainment and emergency alert broadcast information services of traffic, weather and news.
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Channel 4 launches series on MySpaceChannel 4 is previewing the first episode of the new series of its flagship drama Shameless exclusively on MySpace. Shameless already has a profile on the social networking site with 16,800 fans so far. The first episode of the fifth series will be split into four eight-minute segments and premiered on MySpace from 26th December.
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CCTV wins 2008 OlympicsThe International Olympic Committee has revealed an agreement with CCTV.com for the Internet and mobile platform exhibition rights within China for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
IOC Executive Board member and member of the IOC’s TV Rights and New Media Commission Richard Carrión said it was important for the IOC to make sure that all potential partners understood the value of the rights and demonstrated that they would fully exploit these rights in mainland China, whilst also providing satisfactory guarantees of anti-piracy and security measures.
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Oz pirates raidedThe Australian Federal Police have raided an Internet cafe in Sydney's central business district where large volumes of pirated music and movies for re-sale were suspected of being illegally downloaded. The raid follows an investigation that was carried out in co-operation with officials from the anti-piracy arms of the Australian music and film industries - Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI) and the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT).
It is reported that heavy-duty electronic equipment was discovered at the premises and that employees at the Internet cafe were hired to scour the web for suitable material to download and sell.
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TUS Telekom selects EnvivioEnvivio, technology provider of IP video convergence encoding solutions, is providing a Convergence Generation video headend for TUS Telekom’s live standard definition and high definition IPTV services in Slovenia. TUS Telekom will expand its existing SD IPTV service to 108 channels, add 6 channels of HD content, and migrate from MPEG-2 to a more efficient Envivio MPEG-4 AVC encoding solution.
AMOS Satellites adds new European deals
Spacecom, the AMOS satellites operator, has claimed that during the last months of 2007 it improved its position as the satellite of choice for broadcasters all over Central and Eastern Europe.
In Slovenia, Spacecom signed up privately owned music channel ?arli TV, while in Romania, Trinitas TV, owned by the Bucovina and Moldavia Church, joined the flock. Carli TV's music videos and programming will be transmitted over AMOS for five years, whereas Trinitas TV's inspirational channel will be on AMOS for a three-year period.Hungary saw two contract extensions with Halozat, a public TV station supported by the country's local governments, and with HDT, a VSAT provider for private networks. Halozat has signed on for an additional seven years, and HDT is increasing its usage of AMOS to provide broadband Internet access via satellite for its expanding network.
In the Ukraine, Spacecom's Russian-language and international music mix is dancing ahead. Music Box, a broadcaster focusing on local music, is making AMOS' music footprint in the country - alongside MTV Ukraine, M1, M2 and OTV Music Channel - even stronger with a three-year deal.
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Tuesday 18th December
O2 UK IPTV service
Mediaset: 2012 DSO too late
Cable losing out to satellite
Sogecable, Orange joint triple play offer
ITV2 most popular multichannel
India entertainment industry boosted by technology
Orange postpones TV service
TVCatchup investigated
bmcoforum defines implementation profile
O2 UK IPTV serviceMobile phone company O2 is seeking to extend deals with media companies such as Warner Bros and Paramount as it aims to bring its TV service to the UK.
The company, owned by Spain's Telefónica, already has a residential broadband offering in the UK after acquiring Be Broadband a year ago. It now wants to add a IPTV service with trials starting next year. If successful, a full commercial launch could follow by the end of that year. It is using as a blueprint its service in the Czech Republic, where O2 owns both a fixed line and mobile phone operator. O2 TV offers 55 channels and has video on demand content from Warner Bros, Sony Pictures, Disney, Paramount and HBO. It recently reported 70,000 subscribers for the Czech service.
An O2 IPTV service will pitch the company up against its former parent BT, whose BT Vision hybrid Freeview and video-on-demand service has attracted 100,000 customers.
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Mediaset: 2012 DSO too late
From Branislav Pekic in RomeThe 2012 deadline for the definite switchover from analogue to digital terrestrial TV is too far away, according to the president of Mediaset, Fedele Confalonieri.
Speaking at a DTT convention in Turin, the head of Italy’s largest private broadcaster admitted that the initial deadline of 2006 was "too optimistic", but pointed out that the rest of Europe has opted for 2010. He added that digital TV will become a reality much earlier than many expect, as very soon only TV sets with integrated decoders will be sold.
Confalonieri recalled that since 2001, when spectrum trading was authorised, Mediaset has invested E500 million in hardware – i.e. the acquisition and digitalisation of transmitters and related frequencies, and E1200 million for the acquisition of TV rights.
In the first nine months, the broadcaster’s PPV service, Mediaset Premium, sold 2 million pre-paid cards and 4.9 million top-ups. In the period, revenues totalled E142.8 million, more than double the E61 million in the first nine months of 2006. The figure includes the E48.7 million relative to the sale of encrypted football rights to other platforms.
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Cable losing out to satelliteMore American TV households are receiving video programming via an alternate delivery system (ADS) than ever before while MSOs’ penetration continued to fall, according to a TVB analysis of Nielsen Media Research data for November 2007. Fifteen DMAs (Designated Market Areas) are now majority-ADS markets, where more viewers are watching via satellite than over wired cable,.
According to Nielsen NTI data, national ADS penetration reached 28 per cent of television households in November 2007, up from 24.5 per cent in November 2006, and now represents 31.6 per cent of subscription television customers (those paying for video delivery). Over the same period, national wired-cable penetration of television households fell from 62.1 per cent to 61.3 per cent — the last time wired cable was lower was in February 1990.
Direct broadcast satellite (DBS) delivery, the largest component of ADS, is now estimated at 27.6 per cent of television households, up from 24.0 per cent in November 2006.
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Sogecable, Orange joint triple play offer
From David Del Valle in Madrid
Following the recent agreement with Telefónica to launch the triple play service Trio Plus, operational since the beginning of December, Sogecable is now negotiating with France Telecom-controlled IPTV service Orange TV to launch a similar offer in those areas where the telco company is not present.
Both companies had engaged in similar talks in the past but negotiations were put on hold after Sogecable signed a non-exclusive deal with Telefónica in June. Industry experts believe that a possible agreement with Orange not only be positive for Sogecable in terms of business growth and visibility, but could also pave the way for future anti-trust approval for a possible acquisition of its pay-TV arm Digital+ by Telefónica, as it would eliminate exclusivity.
A possible deal would allow Sogecable to offer ADSL Internet access and telephony, along with Digital Plus, and would enable Orange to include the premium channel Canal Plus in its current programming line-up boosting thus subscriptions. Both companies have also agreed to launch a mobile version of Digital Plus, more than 20 TV channels, through Orange's mobile network.
Such an agreement would allow Sogecable to mitigate the current tendency of subscribing to combined triple play offers and increase its subscriber basis. During the first nine months of 2007, the number of net new subscribers amounted to nearly 100,000 clients, to a total of 3.76 million, up 3 per cent. In that period, the Telefónica’s IPTV service Imagenio captured more than 70 per cent of all those new clients, whereas Sogecable only 2,000.
ITV2 most popular multichannel
ITV2 is the most popular multichannel for the second year running, according to Media Guardian analysis, with Sky One slipping from second place to fifth after being pulled off the Virgin Media cable platform.
In the year to December 12, the ITV digital channel posted a multichannel share of 2 per cent - which rises to 2.2 per cent if the +1 channel that was extended to Freeview in March is included, up from a combined share of 2 per cent last year. It made ITV2 the UK's most popular channel after the five main analogue terrestrial services.
Sky Sports One was ITV2's nearest rival, with its share at 1.7 per cent unchanged from last year. ITV3 also remained stable with a share of 1.4 per cent, which put it in third place, up from fifth last year. E4 remained in fourth place with a share of 1.3 per cent, although this was down from 1.5 per cent last year. However, when its +1 channel is added in, its total share builds to 1.8 per cent, down 0.1 per cent on last year, propelling it to second place overall.
India entertainment industry boosted by technology
The Indian media and entertainment industry is set to grow at twice the rate of the country’s GDP in the coming few years, driven largely by the emergence of regional players, technology and digitisation. A combined Ernst & Young-Assocham study has highlighted that increasing digital content in the media and entertainment industry will lead to sweeping changes in consumption habits and revenue models.
Changes in consumption habits along with regulatory pressures have led the country — the third-largest cable and satellite market in the world — to start migrating to digital platforms. Last year, digital music sales took over traditional physical sales of music for the first time in India. In the rest of Asia as well, digital sales are expected to surpass physical sales by end of 2007-08.
The home entertainment segment is also set to grow significantly. Hollywood makes 78 per cent of its revenues from the home entertainment and television broadcast rights segment while in India, home entertainment accounts for less than 25 per cent of overall revenues from the entertainment business. But it is expected to grow significantly, with additional revenue streams such as video on demand emerging. Revenues from home entertainment, DVD and VCD viewing, digital pay television platforms and broadcasting rights are likely contribute up to 45 per cent of overall total revenues of films. In the television space, 29 per cent of an estimated 100 million pay television households are expected to migrate to digital platforms by 2010.
Orange UK has postponed the commercial launch of its UK fixed-line broadband TV service. Orange was due to offer the service before Christmas, but it is not yet developed enough for a full roll-out. Orange is currently trialling the service with 350 customers in London and Leeds.
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TVCatchup investigatedAn advertiser-funded broadband service allowing users to record TV shows from 12 of the UK's biggest free-to-air channels could be heading for a legal battle with broadcasters. The BBC has already said it will investigate the legality of TVCatchup, which is aiming to act as a ‘personal online VCR’ allowing users to record, and then watch, shows scheduled for the next seven days on channels including BBC1, ITV1, Channel 4, Channel Five and Sky Sports News.
The BBC, one of a number of broadcasters investing heavily in launching media players and catch-up TV services, intends to investigate the legality of TVCatchup's business model. "We are not aware of TVCatchup having approached us, nor have we given our permission for them to make BBC programmes available to the public on this basis," said a BBC spokesman.
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bmcoforum defines implementation profile
International lobbying association the Broadcast Mobile Convergence Forum (bmcoforum) has finalised an implementation profile based on the Open Mobile Alliance Mobile Broadcast 1.0 Enabler, with the aim of to accelerating the launch of DVB-H based mobile TV.
This profile can be used in interoperability tests, pilots and timely deployments as early as 2008 of DVB-H based mobile TV services using OMA BCAST specifications. The profile covers areas such as delivery protocols, service guides as well as DRM and smartcard profile protection and purchase options.
The profile contains essential features needed for launching and developing
commercial mobile TV services over DVB-H. The features selected by service
providers and vendors are to ensure product implementations within the target
time frame.bmcoforum will maintain its DVB-H/IPDC and OMA BCAST profiles to ensure a
proper evolution of Mobile TV services by adding more features as technology
progresses.
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Monday 17th December
Italy to get third PPV DTT platform in 2008
UK terrestrial figures shrink
2008 will be the year of Web TV
Industry attack on TV operators over DTT
Virgin VOD focus
First DVB-SH mobile TV trial in Italy
IPTV Corporation with Arqiva
Jupiter subscription figures
OpenTV and Sky Italia Extend Partnership
India's telecom regulator wants spectrum auction
Hanaro Telecom selects Alcatel-Lucent
Italy to get third PPV DTT platform in 2008
From Branislav Pekic in RomeAfter Mediaset Premium and La7Carta Più, Italy will get a third pay-per-view digital terrestrial platform in 2008. The Pangea project is backed by the former CEO of Spanish private broadcaster Antenna 3, Maurizio Giunco.
Unlike the existing two, Pangea is not a proprietary but rather a multi-operator platform based on Nagravision technology. Giunco plans to offer the encryption system for the signal and the cards for the decoder to all interested media groups. The ambitious goal is to reach a turnover of E10 to E12 million in 2008.
The first channels should be on air in January 2008 and will include job training programmes for several Italian companies including LegaCoop as well as a channel for the Val d’Aosta region dedicated to minor interest sports, with 40,000 cards already ordered. A third offer is being prepared by Italian-French company Glamour Plus and will focus on adult content. Glamour Plus has already commissioned 500,000 cards of E20 each that will give access to five nights of programming.
Negotiations are currently underway with other media groups for more entertainment product, especially movies.
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UK terrestrial figures shrinkChannel 4 has seen its all-day audience share fall by more than 11 per cent compared with 2006, according to the latest ratings figures. The network's all hours share, including ratings for S4C in Wales, was the hardest hit of the five main channels in the slow decline of terrestrial television viewing, down 1.1 percentage points from 9.8 per cent last year to 8.7 per cent for 2007 to date.
The station's main rival, BBC2, is down 3.4 per cent to stand at 8.5 per cent from 8.8 per cent last year. The figures, comparing the period January 1 to December 5 2007 with full year figures for 2006, show that Channel Five was the second biggest faller among the five main networks, down 8.8 per cent, with a share of 5.5 per cent - slightly down on its figure of 5.7 per cent for 2006.
BBC1 remains the nation's most popular channel, even though it saw the third biggest decline, down 3.5 per cent to stand at 22 per cent, compared with a 22.8 per cent share last year. ITV1 fell 19 per cent over the five years since the beginning of 2003.
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2008 will be the year of Web TVResearch conducted by Nielsen Online revealed almost 21 million Britons visited a TV, video or movie-related website in September 2007 - a 28 per cent increase in visitors on the previous year. Internet TV services are available to the 12 million UK households with a broadband connection. Worldwide, that figures rises to more than 300 million.
In addition, 2007 saw a plethora of businesses entering the space, hoping to capitalise on the growing consumer trend, but while not all of them will survive, Babelgum CEO, Valerio Zingarelli, believes "the intense competition can only lead to greater innovation and a substantial increase in service quality for viewers, and we’re certainly expecting more new entrants to arrive in 2008."
He continues, "Broadcasters worried about Web television should realise Internet TV is not trying to replace traditional TV, but is merely giving increasingly savvy viewers greater control and choice. It is this greater control, and choice, which will see Internet TV take its place as a conventional platform alongside broadcast TV in 2008 and beyond."
Industry attack on TV operators over DTT
From David Del Valle in Madrid
The Spanish electronic manufacturers have levelled fierce criticism at the TV operators for "their lack of interest" in developing DTT in the country. Jesus Casado, the vice president of the Electronic Association ASIMELEC, highlighted the concern of the industry for "the present situation of DTT", asking for "clear objectives" and urging the Government not to delay the analogue switch-off scheduled for April 2010. He said that "the switch-off is necessary and possible" contrary to the opinion of some high-profile TV executives who have warned of not meeting the deadline.
For ASIMELEC, interactivity is still to be resolved in DTT. To boost interactive services, the Association has requested "a single MHP version" for all the players. The Electronic industry is also supports the distribution of pay-TV services and for a more precise audience measurement.
Currently, seven million homes already receive DTT in the country with plans to reach nine million households over the next months as a result of the Christmas campaign.
In its latest report, the Pro DTT Association, Impulsa TDT, revealed that in October more than 471,000 DTT devices were sold, surpassing the sales of the Christmas months last year with 450,000 in December 06 and 469,000 in January 2007, and reaching a total of 6,956,176 units in the market. Most of Spaniards are opting for an Integrated TV set, ready to have access to DTT, representing 61 per cent of all purchases in October.
Today, DTT has an audience share of nine per cent with an average audience of 4.5 million every day. Madrid is the province with most DTT followers, with almost one million viewers every day, followed by Catalonia, with 700,000 viewers and Valencia, with more than 500,000.
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Virgin VOD focusVirgin Media CEO Malcolm Wall said the group will not add more channels to its cable box, instead focusing investment in on-demand services. He told the FutureMedia conference: "The advertising revenue that is going to be lost for those in linear television is not yet recaptured in the displaced viewing. Linear channels are going to come under increased pressure."
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First DVB-SH mobile TV trial in ItalyAlcatel-Lucent, the mobile operator 3 Italia and Italian public broadcaster RAI are launching the first trial of Mobile TV based on the DVB-SH standard in Italy.
The trial will take place in Torino and it will be overseen by RAI Technological Strategies Dept., Raiway SpA and RAI Research and Technology Innovation Centre, providing their three-year-old experience in mobile-TV field tests. Cellular sites provided by 3 Italia will allow the indoor coverage of Torino's downtown, while broadcast towers provided by RAI and Raiway will allow outdoor and vehicular coverage of the entire town of Torino.
Alcatel-Lucent will provide the DVB-SH equipment, the network planning, the network integration and the technical support required for the good execution of the trial. Alcatel-Lucent's DVB-SH low-power repeaters will be co-localized with the live UMTS sites of 3 Italia and connected to the UMTS antennas.
The first phase of this trial, taking place from December 2007 to March 2008, will consist in a technology trial to validate the capability of DVB-SH to make available a large number of high-quality mobile TV channels, in various usage conditions.
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IPTV Corporation with ArqivaIPTV Corporation has choosen Arqiva for DTH distribution giving IPTV Transatlantic fibre connectivity, uplinking to the UK, and access to the British Sky Broadcasting digital platform allowing the Company to operate as if it were a UK broadcaster.
Arqiva is positioned as the major gateway to Europe for American broadcasters and allows IPTV to distribute its live and pre-recorded television programming from its offices in California directly to the UK.
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Jupiter subscription figuresJupiter Telecommunications, the largest multiple system operator in Japan, has announced that the total subscribing households as of 30th November 2007 served by J:COM’s 21 managed franchises reached 2.75 million, up 482,000, or 21.2 per cent since November 30, 2006. Combined revenue generating units (RGUs) for cable television, high-speed Internet access and telephony services reached 4.85 million, up 838,000 or 20.9 per cent since 30th November 2006.
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OpenTV and Sky Italia Extend PartnershipOpenTV, provider of solutions for the delivery of advanced television and cross-platform interactive services, has confirmed that Sky Italia has entered into a multi-year renewal of its middleware license agreement with OpenTV. Sky Italia is Italy’s premier provider of satellite television, offering a variety of programming choices to more than four million subscribers.
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India's telecom regulator wants spectrum auctionIndia's telecoms regulator has recommended that spectrum required for mobile television services be auctioned. "We are talking about delinking licence from spectrum. Operators may like to bid for spectrum marked for mobile television," Nripendra Mishra said at an industry conference. He added that the recommendations would be presented to the government by 19th December.
Hanaro Telecom selects Alcatel-LucentAlcatel-Lucent has been selected by Hanaro Telecom to supply its Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) solution. Alcatel-Lucent’s GPON solution will enable Hanaro Telecom to deliver advanced broadband services, such as IPTV, high-definition television, video-on-demand over "hanaTV", high-speed Internet access and interactive multimedia services to its 110,000 residential subscribers in Korea.
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