India’s MTNL to Launch Internet Protocol TV

India’s state-run telecommunications company Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) plans to sign commercial arrangements with broadcasters like STAR TV, Zee TV and Sony Entertainment, among others, for its Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) services, reports The Financial Express newspaper.

‘Tri-Band,’ MTNL’s IPTV service that is currently undergoing trials in parts of Delhi and Mumbai is expected to target 200,000 broadband subscribers when it formally launches in the two cities. Bharti Enterprises, India’s largest private mobile services company, is also conducting IPTV trials in Gurgaon, a suburb of Delhi, with test signals from STAR Plus, ESPN and Zee TV, sources told the newspaper.

“We have given our signals to MTNL and Bharti for testing IPTV,” a STAR TV official said. “In Chandigarh, we are even offering `Triple Play’,” the official added, referring to a bundled offering of voice, video and data.

There are currently no regulations in place for IPTV services in India. “The commercial launch of IPTV will be possible as soon as regulations regarding content, program code and other governing guidelines are getting in place,” a senior official at the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India told the newspaper.

Written by Shailaja Neelakantan on August 1st, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on IPTV and India Telecom.

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