IPTV a 'defensive necessity' for carriers?

Stephen Withers
Monday, 02 June 2008 13:12

Business IT - Networking

However, OTT video is already putting pressure on edge and core networks, and upgrades will be needed to cope. Where service providers can get back into the game is through their knowledge of their customers - data mining will allow them to deliver targeted advertising, for example.

(Zhang is also director of solutions marketing at Alcatel-Lucent's Asia Pacific IP division.)

Ted Dean, president and managing director of advisory firm BDA, points out that in the Asia Pacific region's developing markets such as China, IPTV competes with DVD and YouTube. Any official services will be censored, while practically any movie is available on the street in DVD form even though very few foreign films are officially cleared for distribution.

While a full IPTV solution is expensive, especially in terms of content rights and marketing, "Every carrier needs to have an internet video strategy," he said, and while the traditional media industry has experience in content and licensing, telcos do not. This, coupled with existing distribution agreements, put them at a disadvantage in obtaining the rights to content.