Banglalink provides zero downtime to subscribers in Bangladesh

Gathered in Geneva for the first of a new series of ' " target="_blank">ITU Interop' events, " target="_blank">IPTV manufacturers took part in a set of tests to demonstrate the seamless global interoperability between their various " target="_blank">IPTV devices which have been manufactured to comply with the " target="_blank">ITU developed standards known as 'Recommendations'.
Indian players in this sector are giving mixed responses to these global standards.

The biggest concern for Indian players is to overcome the challenges which this technology brings with it. Until service providers turn these challenges into solutions, " target="_blank">IPTV services in India will take a back seat for the time being.

" target="_blank">ITU has been busy pioneering a draft of new standards for the technology which is set to transform global viewing habits in the coming years. Experts agree that stable global standards will be the key to take up " target="_blank">IPTV worldwide, avoiding costly and confusing 'format wars' and reduced choice for consumers.

According to Anil Prakash, secretary general, " target="_blank">IPTV India Forum, “ " target="_blank">IPTV is a major business opportunity for telcos, content providers, and broadcasters. " target="_blank">ITU's " target="_blank">IPTV GSI (Global Standards Initiative) has created standards that will encourage innovation, mask the complexity of services, guarantee QoS, ensure
interoperability, and ultimately help players remain competitive.”

Vijay Yadav, MD, UTStarcom, South Asia however seeks more regional specifications for this technology. He says, We feel that " target="_blank">ITU should not only look at the global situation, but also formulate region specific policies which will truly enable the power of " target="_blank">IPTV in not only bringing entertainment, but also in providing these information and knowledge based services to help the local populace.”

The June 2010 " target="_blank">IPTV Global Forecast 2010 to 2014 report identifies over 800 service providers worldwide offering " target="_blank">IPTV services. The number of companies has increased since the last report, as more service providers have launched services in the last six months or announced new trials.

The new forecast indicates that the number of global " target="_blank">IPTV subscribers will grow from 41.2 mn at the end of 2010 to 101.7 mn in 2014, a compound annual growth rate of 25.3%.

The global " target="_blank">IPTV market is worth $17.5 bn in 2010 and is forecasted to grow to $46 bn in 2014, a compound annual growth rate of 27%. By 2014, Europe and North America will generate a larger share of the global revenue due to very low ARPUs in China and India, the fastest growing (and the biggest markets) in Asia.

Indian " target="_blank">IPTV market is at a nascent stage where it is being deployed over DSL, ADSL, and ADSL2+ network infrastructure owned by operators like BSNL, MTNL, and Airtel. Indian market is witnessing an interesting battle where for the first time, state owned companies are aggressively promoting " target="_blank">IPTV and private players are keeping a low profile.

BSNL and MTNL along with Smart Digivision (official franchisee for " target="_blank">IPTV in India) announced 'My Way' " target="_blank">IPTV services in over fifty-four cities, the largest " target="_blank">IPTV launch in the country some two years back. My Way has already started services to more than 1.7 mn broadband subscribers of BSNL and MTNL in these selected fifty-four cities which comprise 80% of the country's broadband subscribers base.
Regarding the new global standards announced by " target="_blank">ITU, GD Singh, director, My Way says,

Globally this technology is not restricted by any kind of budget and investment problems; but in India, these are the biggest challenges for this technology's growth. The recent " target="_blank">ITU standards will take some time for India to adopt to and follow in the real sense.”
Private players like Airtel and Reliance have not aggressively promoted their " target="_blank">IPTV services. In fact, Reliance has quietly launched their services in some areas in Mumbai without much fuss and Airtel has been going slow on " target="_blank">IPTV.

The major reason for private players neglecting " target="_blank">IPTV services is more related to technical disadvantage. BSNL has laid copper wires across all the major cities of India which is the medium for " target="_blank">IPTV services. Whereas, private players have access to metros and few tier-2 cities via fixed lines. This was the biggest setback for private players in the " target="_blank">IPTV sector. Also today, it is not viable to put copper on ground because of infrastructure cost and technical glitches.

Barriers for Growth of " target="_blank">IPTV in India

Physical Infrastructure: India lacks the required high speed wiring and copper cables and is still dependent on copper or co-axial cables for the deployment of " target="_blank">IPTV network. Some parts of the world have successfully shifted to optic fibre for deploying high quality " target="_blank">IPTV services.
" target="_blank">Broadband Penetration and Network Capability: The existing broadband infrastructure would have to be substantially upgraded. India's broadband penetration is one of the lowest in the world and success of " target="_blank">IPTV is directly dependant on the broadband penetration. India's broadband penetration rate is 2% (rate of Internet penetration of total households). However, advance technologies like VDSL, WiMax or LTE can save the day for " target="_blank">IPTV in India.

Network Capability: " target="_blank">IPTV requires at least 1.5Mbps line (with MPEG-4) for basic services with good QoS and 8Mbps line (with MPEG-4) for HDTV services. Some broadband networks, especially MTNL and BSNL networks are not ready yet. Most of the major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai, etc, are SDTV compatible. This is largely due to BSNL and MNTL networks, and these are the cities where BSNL and MTNL first launched their " target="_blank">IPTV in India.

QoS (Quality of service): Current subscribers have criticized the quality of services offered by these companies. Since the infrastructure for " target="_blank">IPTV is still a copper based medium; technical glitches are bound to create problems for good reception of audio video signal.
Content Readiness and Cost : Content is critical for the success of " target="_blank">IPTV. To compete with DTH and cable operators, " target="_blank">IPTV service providers will have to provide high quality innovative content. For content, there are various costs involved; and it totally depends on the route that a player takes. Operators will have to offer services that are not already being provided by their competitors, including Live TV, Video on Demand (VOD) and Digital Video Recorders (DVRs).

Cost of Service: The costs of " target="_blank">IPTV services are quite competitive, but the cost of " target="_blank">IPTV STBS is still very high. Cost of " target="_blank">IPTV STBS will have to fall further, as they are more expensive than traditional DTH or cable set-top boxes.

Regulatory Framework: Some of the potential regulatory issues identified include privacy, piracy, advertising, multimedia communications and content classification.Telecom players are not very keen in pushing " target="_blank">IPTV services in India right now. They are heavily involved in their DTH service promotions. Companies are playing safe and waiting to see results of the " target="_blank">IPTV launch of some of the existing companies.

Future
Wireless " target="_blank">IPTV : Indian private players do realize that " target="_blank">IPTV in the long run can become a ARPU driver. One of the interesting developments that took place in the Indian " target="_blank">IPTV market in the last few months was the rollout of wireless STBs (hardware essential for accessing " target="_blank">IPTV, digital cable or DTH services) by Aksh Optifibre. Aksh has plans of commercially rolling out its wireless STBs for " target="_blank">IPTV services. This will enable consumers to access " target="_blank">IPTV services in any part of their home without having to physically make wire connections from the STB to the TV sets. With wireless STBs, we can see more movement in this sector and predominantly by private players in the coming years. WiMax and 3G auctions are over and till these technologies are not open for use in the market, wireless " target="_blank">IPTV technology is also on a standstill.
Experts believe that wireless " target="_blank">IPTV-also called 'Quadruple Play'-is going to be a revolution in India. Launch of LTE and WiMax technology in the future can bring about a huge change in the Indian market.

" target="_blank">IPTV has been around for some time, but it hasn't seen much success. Few initial players like 'My Way' are trying to bring " target="_blank">IPTV into limelight and match up to the success of DTH. 'My Way' is trying its best to come up with attractive features which are far more superior and innovative than DTH services, including cost effective schemes and attractive technical superiority for its customers.

Researchers believe that India is not only a potential market for " target="_blank">IPTV, but can also become a hub for innovation and technological breakthrough in the global " target="_blank">IPTV market. Indian " target="_blank">IPTV market has the potential to bring new innovative technologies, breakthrough business models and world class content just like Indian wireless telecom. What " target="_blank">ITU has enabled now is a common standard which everyone can use, and this should really make " target="_blank">IPTV much more successful in the future.

Akanksha Singh
akankshas@cybermedia.co.in