Despite it being early days in the IPTV market, service providers are lured by the technology’s offer of an interesting entry-door to triple play. IPTV is rapidly emerging as the buzzword in Latin America’s telecommunications industry, as a host of operators has either started testing the waters or intends to do so soon.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Internet Protocol Television Services Markets in Latin America, finds that IPTV service is beginning to see widespread deployment in the region, as traditional telecommunications service providers try to complete a triple play offer.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users, and other industry participants with an overview of the IPTV services in Latin America, then send an e-mail to José María Jantus, Corporate Communications, at jose.jantus@frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to you by e-mail.

Some leading groups and operators that have already rolled out this service include CTV in Panama, Brasil Telecom in Brazil, and Telefónica CTC as well as Telsur in Chile. Another dozen providers across the region have plans to follow suit or are at a trial stage.

“Traditional telecommunications providers are increasingly feeling the heat of competition from cable TV service providers bundling TV, Internet, and telephony,” explains Ignacio Perrone, Industry Manager at Frost & Sullivan. “To retain their market share and reduce churn, they may also have to join the IPTV bandwagon and increase their wallet-share among their client base.”

Since they are dealing with an emerging market, vendors will be hard pressed by the massive demand and the fact that they have to operate with untested infrastructure. However, they can improve solutions through joint ventures and acquisitions.

Apart from the challenges associated with an emerging market, entry-level participants in many countries will have to deal with regulatory barriers. Even though Latin America is in a transitional state, with authorities addressing these issues and most likely, solving them, it could be a while before IPTV becomes completely viable. This could significantly delay the time to market of many service providers.

“Restraints to videobroadcasting in Chile or Brazil, or triple play restrictions in Argentina are examples of the obstacles IPTV is facing,” notes Perrone. “Traditional telecommunications service providers should aggressively make the case for IPTV as part of a broader convergence trend affecting the industry before each country’s regulatory bodies, in order to speed up the regulatory transition.”

Internet Protocol Television Services Markets in Latin America is part of the Communication Services Growth Partnership Service program, which also includes research in the following markets: fixed telephony, mobile telephony, and broadband. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants. Interviews with the press are available.