IPTV set to skyrocket says new research

Stan Beer
Monday, 14 November 2005 10:00

IT Industry - Strategy

Worldwide IPTV service revenue will skyrocket to over US$44 billion with more than 53 million subscribers by 2009, according to a new report.

The report by analyst firm Infonetics Research, IPTV Equipment and Services Market Outlook, predicts that although DSL providers account for the bulk of service revenue now, cable broadband providers will also migrate to all-IP triple-play services in the next few years, possibly offering wireless services as well.

According to the report, service providers anticipate big payoffs from IPTV, judging from the significant investments they are making. In 2004, service providers worldwide spent US$304 million on IPTV-related services infrastructure, growing to almost US$4.5 billion in 2009 as providers look to IPTV services as the means of raising ARPU from a near-saturated broadband subscriber base.

"Service providers have been investing in IP DSLAMs, broadband edge routers, and aggregation switches to prepare for IPTV in the network infrastructure layer, but are having to make significant investments in the services layer too, adding video on demand servers, encoders, and headend equipment as well," said Richard Webb, Infonetics Research analyst and lead author of the report. "But the biggest decision they face right now is who to choose as a middleware partner."

IPTV subscribers are increasing briskly as well, topping 53 million worldwide in 2009. Subscriber growth is strong in all regions, especially in Asia Pacific, where faster forms of DSL like VDSL and ADSL2/2+ are stimulating subscriber growth.

"Service providers in Asia Pacific and EMEA, especially PCCW in Hong Kong and FastWeb in Italy, and independent operators in North America like SureWest, are already experiencing significant IPTV subscriber growth," noted Jeff Heynen, directing analyst for broadband and IPTV at Infonetics Research. "We expect SBC, Verizon, BT, and other large providers to successfully conquer the technical and marketing hurdles before them, and when they do, their IPTV subscriber figures will increase substantially year-over-year."

Growth Highlights
    -  Worldwide IPTV service revenue will grow to over US$44 billion in 2009
    -  IPTV services infrastructure capex will grow 1,377%, from US$304 million to close to US$4.5 billion
    -  The number of IPTV subscribers worldwide will grow to 53.7 million in 2009
    -  The number of IPTV subscribers in North America will increase 12,985% between 2004 and 2009