Telco TV Taking Off

The high-tech market research firm finds that the delivery of digital TV service over ADSL, VDSL, and fiber networks is becoming increasingly viable, as improvements in the data rates and reach of DSL are enabling telcos to reach more customers with the right amount of bandwidth. At the same time, advances in video compression are reducing the right amount of bandwidth needed for each video stream. In-Stat/MDR has also found that: In 2005, advanced video compression will allow telcos to reach more homes in their territory or expand the number of video streams delivered. The delivery of high definition streams over DSL will be much easier, as each stream will only need about 8 Mbps rather than 15. Some telcos are eliminating the bandwidth issue by placing fiber directly to the home. Providers in Europe and Asia are using this approach to deliver TV over IP. In North America, BellSouth, SBC, and Verizon, will lay fiber, but they will overlay analog video on a separate wavelength, so their TV services will be similar to todays cable network. Most equipment suppliers are reporting that requests for proposals are increasing, so 2004, and into 2005, look to be good years for Telco TV. There are three pay-TV providers in France that are offering digital TV over copper networks. TV over DSL has also been launched in Hong Kong and Japan, with subscribers signing on in the hundreds of thousands. Previous deployments are also expected to expand. FastWeb will increase the number of homes it reaches and increase the penetration of TV services into the existing base. Video Networks has relaunched their HomeChoice service in London. All of this activity will enable the number of digital telco TV subscribers to reach 14 million in 2008, with an expectation of 75 million households having the service available.