IPTV Has Worldwide Annual Sales Potential of ? Hundreds Of Millions
-/September 9, 2005 - Wi-Fi Technology News/-Internet Protocol TV has a worldwide sales potential of several hundred million euros a year. The opportunity to add a new dimension to home entertainment is certainly enticing. The new technology gives carriers a very successful countermeasure to the slowly receding importance of traditional telephony business.
Technology success stories always emerge from a classic win-win situation. ?All that counts for users is content. This is the opportunity for fixed-network carriers, since their DSL networks give them the bandwidth to meet this demand,? is how Stefan Jenzowsky, Head of Business Innovation at Siemens Communications, describes the scenario.
Interactive television, betting on sports events, personal video recorders or TV of yesterday are just some of the options that users of IPTV can look forward to. And, after all, the second strategically important element in IPTV is fun. ?The technology is not first on users? minds. Most people don?t want to know why something works the way it does. They just want to use it and have a lot of fun,? explains Stefan Jenzowsky.
Belgacom, Belgium?s largest carrier, also confirms just how crucial content is. Its IPTV offering includes all major TV stations, a pay TV channel and a digital video store. In addition, subscribers can watch Belgian league soccer games, for which the carrier has acquired exclusive broadcasting rights.
But how does a carrier get its hands on attractive content? ?Up to now, content has been relatively unknown territory for most carriers. That is why we, as the solution vendor, act as an intermediary between content providers, such as the major US studios, and carriers,? notes Stefan Jenzowsky. As a result, carriers can offer their customers the latest films or other shows, while studios gain access to a new and interesting market. And they can rely on their content being well protected, since all technical requirements were clarified with the solution vendor in advance.
One thing is certain: IPTV will mean a fundamental change in television-watching habits, giving viewers greater independence and flexibility to watch what they want, when they want. That assessment is shared by the Dutch carrier KPN, which has also recently decided in favor of Siemens SURPASS Home Entertainment: ?The opportunities opened up for the TV sector by the new IP world are immense. Television will change fundamentally. New services will be available, and viewers will be able to exercise greater choice and take an active part,? says KPN?s strategy expert Eelco Blok.
Siemens Communications at IBC: Booth 9.240.
Myrio at IBC: Booth 3.144.
RAI Exhibition and Congress Centre, Europaplein
Siemens Communications is one of the largest players in the global telecommunications industry. Siemens is the only provider in the market that offers its customers a full-range portfolio, from devices for end users to complex network infrastructures for enterprises and carriers as well as related services. Siemens Communications is the world?s innovation leader in convergent technologies, products and services for wireless, fixed and enterprise networks. It is the largest Group within Siemens and operates in more than 160 countries around the world. In fiscal 2004 (year-end September 30), its 60,000-strong workforce posted sales of approximately 18 billion euros.
Further information about Siemens Communications is available at: http://www.siemens.com/communications.
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