In May, the Netherlands' largest carrier KPN (The Hague) launched Mine, its IP controlled TV service, available on domestic television sets via a broadband connection and set-top box. It offers a host of new opportunities for interactive television use. Siemens Communications is providing the technology and integrating the solution into the operator's network.

Watching television on the TV screen via the Internet Protocol – "IPTV" for short – allows viewers to enter into a completely new world of media use. For instance, KPN's customers can call up programs from the three public Dutch channels as long as ten days after they have been broadcast. They can also record up to 100 hours of programs on a recorder supplied via the operating network, and select broadcasts from 65 TV and 60 radio channels using an electronic program guide. A wide selection of feature films is also available to watch on demand. The technology behind the IPTV package is Surpass Home Entertainment from Siemens Communications.

"Mine provides a completely new way of watching television," said Ludolf Rasterhoff, KPN’s TV & Media Director. "We make it possible for our customers to use the medium interactively".

KPN also plans to include special interactive programs in its IPTV service. For example, the country's three largest football teams – Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV – will be providing their own TV channel.

Siemens has provided KPN with a complete turnkey IPTV solution, including management systems for all applications, digital rights management, and uniform subscriber management. The middleware providing the communication between the network and the set-top box comes from Myrio, the leading middleware specialist and Siemens subsidiary, purchased in 2005 to complete Siemens' own IPTV offering.