Telcos may be counting on IPTV to revitalize their businesses, but the competition they will face in the pay TV market will be expensive, relentless and possibly damaging. Cable and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) providers have been battling it out for PayTV subscribers and both are readying to take on IPTV.

Analysys International announced they predict that Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) will become the next global industry, with a potential market of 200 billion people, while the China IPTV market will mature into a huge market, reaching 16.7 billion RMB in revenue and 16.65 million in the predicted number of users by 2009. Its newly released Focus Report on IPTV China-2005 helps dispel misconceptions that this industry that is full of obstacles and provides high-valued results for business models based on a thorough understanding of the industry.

Alexander Cameron, Managing Director of Digital TX Ltd, brings us a fresh perspective on how ISPs need to approach IPTV and related technologies to be successful in the unique and crowded UK market. Cameron offers up his experience working with industry leaders in this free white paper.

"Most companies researching video-centric technology have spent so much time in perpetual loops second-guessing themselves that they have not been able to look past the basic models of deployment to help understand the possibilities the technology empowers. In layman’s terms, they’re so worried about viability that they haven't used their imagination to think of compelling applications and their constituent parts."

ABI Research examined the nascent market for "Telco TV," and the equipment needed to support advanced video delivery services. At that time, operators were planning quite rapid project deployments, and subscriber number projections were high.

The 2006 "Telco TV Infrastructure and System Integration Opportunities" paints a somewhat less rosy picture. Many projects have suffered delays, and many companies have downgraded their initial estimates of customer numbers and launch dates.

Multimedia Research Group, Inc. announces its new semi-annual IPTV (or IP TV) forecast, "IPTV Global Forecast 2005 - 2009: September 2005," as part of its IPTV Tracking Service. Projecting growth from 3.7 million subscribers in 2005 to 36.9 million in 2009, the report also forecasts subscriber revenue growth from $880 million to $9.9 billion in 2005-2009. "IPTV is continuing to push forward in Asia and Europe, as deployments and trials in Japan, China, and India are really starting to show positive impact," states Bob Larribeau, MRG Senior Analyst. "The U.S. RBOCs (Regional Bell Operating Companies) are still lagging, due to issues that SBC and BellSouth are facing, waiting for low-cost MPEG-4 set-top boxes and Microsoft's software, and dealing with the complexity of the system integration required. Progress in Europe is making up most of the difference."

IMS Research estimates that by the end of 2005, nearly 14 million households worldwide will be capable of watching HDTV programming. By 2010, this market is forecast to reach over 87 million households.

Based on a recent study, The Future of High-definition Television, HDTV is becoming an important offering for cable and satellite TV providers. "More operators in competitive digital TV markets are starting to look towards HDTV as a way to attract and retain premium subscribers," commented Anna Hunt, research director at IMS Research. "One of the challenges these operators face will be providing content in HD that is different and not just upconverted from existing SD channels."

Although still in the early stages of deployment, IP video services in Asia Pacific are ramping up and will grow by nearly 80% annually through 2010, reports In-Stat. In-Stat forecasts that by 2010 this market's revenue will reach $4.2 billion. China, Japan, India and South Korea will account for the majority of regional growth, the high-tech market research firm says.

Research and Markets has announced the addition of Multimedia Broadband Services & Infrastructure: Telco TV in Mass Deployment Phase to their offering.

Last year, Telcos were issuing many requests for proposal to equipment and software vendors as they investigated what was available for Telco TV services. They ran lab trials and limited market trials. In 2005, many of these Telcos have commercially launched services or announced their plans to launch in 2006. The pace is unprecedented in TelcoTV.

Research and Markets has announced the addition of 2006 Europe - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband in United Kingdom and Ireland to their offering.

This report covers the UK and Ireland, representing key and influential telecom markets. Trends and developments in telecommunications, mobile, Internet, broadband, digital TV and converging media including VoIP, VoD and IPTV developments.

Picture quality is the top concern for prospective IPTV customers according to an independent research study conducted by InsightExpress on behalf of SupportSoft, Inc., a leading provider of Real-Time Service Management (RTSM ^TM) software. The 2005 study (1) polled European ADSL customers in 6 countries about their perceptions in receiving TV service from their telephone company. The number one concern expressed by respondents was "poor picture quality." A separate study (2) conducted in the United States reinforces the European finding, with poor picture quality identified by nearly 39% of American DSL subscribers surveyed as their top concern, should they receive IPTV services from their telephone company versus their local cable or satellite company.

Research and Markets has announced the addition of 2006 Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband in Europe Report - Germany and Austria to their offering.

This report covers Germany and Austria, two key and influential European telecom markets. The report looks at trends and developments in telecommunications, mobile, Internet, broadband, digital TV and converging media including VoIP, VoD and IPTV developments in both Germany and Austria.

Research and Markets has announced the addition of 2006 Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband in Europe Report - Benelux Countries to their offering.

The Benelux countries are Belgium, The Netherlands, and Luxembourg, all of which are small countries by European standards, yet leaders in technology use. This report looks at trends and developments in telecommunications, mobile, Internet, broadband, digital TV and converging media including VoIP, VoD and IPTV developments in the Benelux countries.

More than 80 percent of American consumers believe better prices and service will emerge if cable TV companies have to compete for customers, and most of those consumers want their elected officials to take action to encourage competition, according to a survey released today by national advocacy group Consumers for Cable Choice.

Consumers and business users hungry for increased network capacity are ready to add a little fiber to their diets. According to new research from IDC, the worldwide fiber access equipment market will reach $1.9 billion in 2009, as users migrate to higher speed data services and innovative new services such as IPTV, HDTV, and video-on-demand (VOD).

A major new strategic management report warns that broadband video services will eventually displace broadcast distribution, but telecommunications providers may not be the ultimate winners of the network television revolution.

IPTV--internet protocol television--the delivery of digital television and other audio and video services over broadband data networks using the same basic protocols that support the internet, will transform both television and the web.