US firm wins deal for internet TV in China
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-11-16 11:21

US networking firm UTStarcom said it had struck a deal with China Telecom for technology to deliver Internet protocol television (IPTV) to Chinese viewers.

The first service launch of up to 5,000 subscribers is scheduled to be in Shanghai by the end of this year, said UTStarcom.

The deal helps China Telecom move into IPTV, which offers a wide range of channels and programs, because instead of "pushing" video through a cable with limited capacity, the viewer would access computers that store the content.

Additionally, the service is designed to offer subscribers "time-shift" capabilities -- the ability to pause and rewind live television, as well as an expansive amount of storage to record any program and watch on each subscriber's own schedule, the company said.

Ying Wu, chief executive officer and president of UTStarcom China, said in a statement that the market has enormous potential.

"We believe that IPTV technology will revolutionize the way people watch TV by empowering users with the ability to choose the programs they want to watch when they want to watch them," Wu said in a statement from the company's headquarters in Alameda, California.

According to a recent report from ABI Research, IPTV subscriber growth is expected to exceed 110 million people by 2010, with the Asia Pacific region accounting for more than 50 percent of the subscribers worldwide.

Wu added, "We believe our mVision IPTV solution is a mature, field-proven platform, having been deployed by Softbank Broadband in Japan for the launch of their BBTV commercial IPTV service in July. We believe the success Softbank Broadband has had to date with mVision in Japan will translate well in China."