Thursday, 5 April 2007

China Wants Full Opening up of IPTV Services

China Telecom’s chief engineer, Wei Leping said at the 2007 Global NGN Summit on Tuesday that he calls for a full opening up of all Internet Protocol Television or IPTV service in China within this year.

IPTV is a service that integrates three networks – Internet, Telecom network and broadcasting network- and transmits television programs via telecom broadband networks.

Although China Telecom is permitted to run IPTV testing networks in Shanghai, Taizhou, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Xi’an and Hanzhong, more than 95 per cent of its 300 local IPTV networks have not been given the go ahead.

China’s telecom operator sees IPTV as a potential growth area of its broadband value-added services however; broadcasting companies are concerned that it may stunt development of their digital TV services which is the dominant service presently.

China Telecom developed approximately 190,000 IPTV subscribers at the end of 2006, predominantly in Shanghai.

Its rival China Netcom Ltd. has also set its sights on acquiring the IPTV license in 2007.