AfterDawn: News

O2 wants to launch IPTV in UK

Despite a characteristic slow progression of IPTV and the troubles with the industry adopting it as a viable media outlet, UK's O2 wants to enter the IPTV market full steam. Since entering into the broadband market last year, 02 launched a similar Internet Protocol Television campaign in the Czech Republic and received pretty decent results. Given that the Czech republic only accounts for 10 million people and a market research shows broadband penetration at a mere 12 percent, the 700,000 subscribers O2 received from that part of the world is substantial. In comparison, larger areas such as the UK have a broadband penetration rate of 24 percent.

The success of IPTV in the Czech Republic just might be able to be attributed to the fact that O2 holds exclusive rights in airing ice hockey games. Despite this, the firm seems confident that it should be able to offer a competent service to the UK very soon.



Test subscriptions will begin rolling out in the UK sometime next year over the Be ADSL2+ network. Several indications have pointed towards IPTV failing as a whole. With Tiscali's customer base sliding and BT Vision failing to meet its goals, O2 still claims IPTV will stand the test of time.

Analysts agree that IPTV remains a requirement for broadband providers to retain customers and avoid becoming a commodity. Ovum's John Deleaney said, "In the medium/long term, all broadband access providers need plans to stave off commoditisation, and TV has an important role to play in those plans.

Source:
The Register

Written by: Dave Horvath @ 17 Dec 2007 17:20

• Previous article

• Study predicts massive growth in online video over next 4 years

• Next article

• Blockbuster sends DVD care packages to USO

• 5 comments

• simpsim1

  IPTV will never flourish in the UK with the telecommunications infrastructure we have at present. It's barely capable of dealing with broadband as a whole. OK so the exchanges are getting better, but the system was never designed for the amount of traffic it's handling now and providers are shaping traffic to limit bandwidth. Hardly ideal conditions for the proliferation of IPTV.

  17.12.2007 19:19 #1

• plazma247

  haha im sorry you live 4 miles from your exchange you cant have IPTV
  TFF Cable Internet :)
  
  Oh look its wet and the telephone poles points are damp your down to slow mo mode...
  
  lol im sure ip tv its more than ready for the uk, but like you said due to the bandwidth were not going to get REALTIME iptv any time soon, so O2 as long as you can find a consumer base whos prepaired to sit there and wait for the downloads great...

  21.12.2007 06:21 #2

• simpsim1

  If only our government would do what other countries have done and actually PAY for a proper network infrastructure in the UK, rather than wasting it on endless amounts of usless laws, buildings that no one wants, and equally useless civil service non-jobs. Then we could take advantage of the technology that many of our European counterparts are getting already.
  
  Seeing how it's highly unlikely that we'll ever see that, we have to rely on ADSL (Excellent technology that is probably the best we'll get to use the outdated copper wiring that makes up the UKs telephone network) and cable services (Which is only as good as the cable infrastructure originally installed - some of it done way before the internet went broadband). ADSL wins hands down for speed at the minute but the PSTN system as we know it is quickly heading for meltdown, with many exchanges running on the edge of what they were designed to do.
  
  Quote:haha im sorry you live 4 miles from your exchange you cant have IPTV
  TFF Cable Internet :)
  
  Oh look its wet and the telephone poles points are damp your down to slow mo mode... Absolutely, but I live 7 miles away from the nearest cable so I have to rely on ADSL. My telephone exchange is 75 yards from my house, yet I still get bandwidth problems. ISPs are very quick to blame this on high bandwidth users and the like, but the truth is that they're pushing and pushing for more people to sign up so that they can make more profit. The extra users are overloading the system and the ISPs are throttling peak time usage to keep the sytem afloat.
  
  So if peak time usage gets throttled, so does peak time telly. Does anyone see anything wrong there?
  
  Rant over.......

  21.12.2007 16:46 #3

• plazma247

  The way i see it, if the uk doesnt overhaul its internet infra structure of the next 5-10 years were just going to start slipping behind in a big way.
  
  FFS the NL had cable/fiber to desktop before most of us over here had even heard of broadband.
  
  Ok if we forget cable for the second and focus on ADSL, there are a few places which have their own exchanges but largely it doesnt matter who you sign up with you still have BT involved so they can try and make their cut.
  
  If you ask me were all paying the price (poor internet) for BT's cough special hand shakes that were made when BT got privitised.
  
  As soon as everyone can go VOIP and BT can no longer make enough to keep going from calls, then maybe the breaks can come off and we can see some proper speed with a replacement.
  
  Until then they are going to continue to expand the user base with little to none spent on the infrastructre, restrict bandwidth and try and control VOIP markets to prevent them from losing what they see as their core business.
  
  If you ask me BT is an apple that started to go rotten a long time ago.
  
  Simpsim1 sorry to hear you cant get cable ADSL blows man.

  22.12.2007 08:31 #4

• borhan9

  I am sorta impressed at this new technology but i gather its not very cheap to run.

  24.12.2007 23:08 #5