NewsMan
13-05-2004, 07:25 AM
The technology is available to provide pay TV over broadband networks, but
that doesn't mean the pay TV industry or consumers are ready for it, writes
David Crowe.
Some day soon, broadband networks will carry a glittering array of
multimedia content that will rival cable television for speed and
convenience. Or at least they will if technology developers and telcos have
their way.
As consumers sign up for low-cost services with basic speeds, the broadband
industry is looking at what to offer next.
One answer: dramatically faster services that can match pay TV networks such
as Foxtel.
The idea is not a pipedream . About 200,000 subscribers in Hong Kong already
view their pay TV over a digital subscriber line (DSL) network much like the
broadband DSL network in Australia.
Hong Kong consumers switch quickly between about 40 channels, have access to
a thorough electronic programming guide and can surf the net over DSL at the
same time as watching a movie using the same connection.
The service, offered by Telstra ally PCCW , has proved popular since its
September 2003 launch it is signing up about 2000 subscribers a day.
To some, it looks like an excellent way to broaden the coverage of pay TV in
Australia to areas beyond the reach of the cable networks laid by Telstra
and Optus in the 1990s.
Equipment company NEC, which makes the DSL equipment used by PCCW, argues
that the Hong Kong service could be used in Australia in the near future.
``It's a true pay TV service and it looks just as if you were on cable,"
says NEC Australia executive John Delpapa.
The information is encoded in the same way as a cable TV network and can be
sent over high-speed DSL lines just as easily as cable.
``It's just the same information being sent over a different pipe," says
Delpapa......
--
Details:
Publication: Australian Financial Review
Section: Supplement
Page: 2
More news:
http://www.auspaytv.com.au/forums/ipdl.php
***
Seeing a murder on television can help work off one's antagonisms. And if
you haven't any antagonisms, the commercials will give you some.
-- Alfred Hitchcock
that doesn't mean the pay TV industry or consumers are ready for it, writes
David Crowe.
Some day soon, broadband networks will carry a glittering array of
multimedia content that will rival cable television for speed and
convenience. Or at least they will if technology developers and telcos have
their way.
As consumers sign up for low-cost services with basic speeds, the broadband
industry is looking at what to offer next.
One answer: dramatically faster services that can match pay TV networks such
as Foxtel.
The idea is not a pipedream . About 200,000 subscribers in Hong Kong already
view their pay TV over a digital subscriber line (DSL) network much like the
broadband DSL network in Australia.
Hong Kong consumers switch quickly between about 40 channels, have access to
a thorough electronic programming guide and can surf the net over DSL at the
same time as watching a movie using the same connection.
The service, offered by Telstra ally PCCW , has proved popular since its
September 2003 launch it is signing up about 2000 subscribers a day.
To some, it looks like an excellent way to broaden the coverage of pay TV in
Australia to areas beyond the reach of the cable networks laid by Telstra
and Optus in the 1990s.
Equipment company NEC, which makes the DSL equipment used by PCCW, argues
that the Hong Kong service could be used in Australia in the near future.
``It's a true pay TV service and it looks just as if you were on cable,"
says NEC Australia executive John Delpapa.
The information is encoded in the same way as a cable TV network and can be
sent over high-speed DSL lines just as easily as cable.
``It's just the same information being sent over a different pipe," says
Delpapa......
--
Details:
Publication: Australian Financial Review
Section: Supplement
Page: 2
More news:
http://www.auspaytv.com.au/forums/ipdl.php
***
Seeing a murder on television can help work off one's antagonisms. And if
you haven't any antagonisms, the commercials will give you some.
-- Alfred Hitchcock