But Sky has always been a deeply pragmatic company, and the nominal threats from new OTT providers such as Netflix have caused it to put aside its ideological differences with its old enemy, and ensure that its customers don’t desert their pay-TV service.

It will be interesting to see the impact of this on iPlayer usage. Customers of Virgin Media have been active viewers of iPlayer via their TV for some time now, but the addition of Sky subscribers could even see the iPlayer becoming predominantly a service viewed on TVs rather than PCs.

At the same time, the shows available on iPlayer (and on ITV online –also part of the Sky deal and home to some of the UK’s TV crown jewels such as Coronation Street and Downton Abbey) represent the ‘short head’ of on-demand TV content, the sort of shows users watch in large numbers within 24 hours of transmission. These are not only the most desirable shows, they are free. For a service such as Netflix, based on delivering ‘long tail’ TV content for an additional monthly fee, business just got a little tougher.

Sky is looking to head off Netflix, as the UK's goto choice for internet based TV and movies

Sky, the UK TV broadcaster and ISP, has announced that it is adding a fibre broadband product to its internet packages, while also for the first time offering an á la carte internet TV service to compete with UK newcomer Netflix.

Sky’s fibre service, based on UK incumbent BT’s wholesale network, will offer download speeds of 40Mb at a cost of £20 per month, undercutting BT. Sky said that the fibre package would be available  from April to 30 per cent of UK homes, and that this would increase in line with BT’s fibre rollout.

Aside from fibre, the company also announced plans to make its ADSL2+ service available to 88 per cent of UK homes by June 2013. The move follows a strong quarter for Sky, who said in the last three months of 2011 added 166,000 new customers to its ADSL broadband service.

Outside of the home, Sky said all of its customers will be able to make use of a public wifi service, powered by The Cloud, the UK wifi provider it purchased in January 2011.

“This year sees a number of enhancements that will ensure we create even more choice”, Stephen van Rooyen, managing director of Sky’s sales and marketing group said in a statement. “Whether it’s the launch of free public wifi, extending our network into more parts of the UK, or adding fibre to our product mix, we are focused on meeting the demands of customers and on being their number one choice for home communications.”

Sky, predominately a satellite based broadcaster, also said it was bringing an internet TV offering available to everyone in the UK, even if they were not Sky customers. Movies will be available at launch on a monthly package unlimited access basis or for one off rentals, with sport and general entertainment available at a later date. The service is set to arrive in the first half of 2012 on a range of devices, from PCs and Mac to phones, tablets and games consoles.

The move is a clear shot across the bows of Netflix, which after shaking up the pay TV landscape in the US is seeking to do the same in Europe, launching in the UK in early January. Commenting on the plans Sky’s chief executive, Jeremy Darroch said in a statement: “This exciting new service will offer some of Sky’s most popular content through a wide range of broadband connected devices. Alongside the continued growth of our satellite platform, this will be a new way for us to reach out to consumers who love great content, but may not want the full Sky service.

Completing it response to rival online services, Sky announced that the popular iPlayer service, from its broadcast rival the BBC, would finally be available as part of its Anytime+ internet based catch-up service, which launched as a Sky Broadband exclusive offering in October 2010.

The BBC said that it was now willing to make its iPlayer service available to Sky due to the latter opening up Anytime+ access to all ISPs, rather than just customers using Sky Broadband. “A core BBC value is to reach all audiences on a universal basis, so Sky’s plan to make Anytime+ available to customers regardless of their internet provider is an important development in helping to bring BBC iPlayer to around 5 million new homes in 2012 – at no extra charge,” the BBC said in a statement.

The Broadband MEA conference is taking place on the 25-27th March 2012, at the Westin Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina, Dubai, UAE. Go to the website now to register your interest.

Boxee brings it all together

Informa has long believed that the winning video platform will be the one that most conveniently blends a mix of Live TV and OTT into one easy-to-use package for consumers. Conventional logic has always been that this would either come from one of four places: a Pay TV provider, one of the big CE OEMs, Apple or Google. These players are the ones with the clout required to both secure content deals, and to pull off the significant technical integration such a play would require. But at CES, the most compelling vision of this future came from a much more unlikely source: Boxee.

For the uninitiated, Boxee began as a piece of cross platform video software; that software is now integrated into two media streaming devices from D-Link and Iomega. What Boxee showed at CES was a live TV tuner. It’s incredibly simple: users buy  a $50 unit, which plugs in to the back of their TV; this simply takes whatever the user is watching and delivers it via the Boxee box and UI.

Crucially Boxee has done no content deals: the device simply takes whatever the user is watching on TV, no matter who a customer’s operator is. This means that your live TV simply sits as a menu option with all of your other OTT offerings. It also means no more having to flick between your Boxee box and your cable or satellite box.

This should be ringing alarm bells for operators. While it may seem counter intuitive to label a live TV device as a cord cutting device, it’s easy to see how some consumers might not want to take the additional sports (Boxee has deals with most of the big US sports leagues) and movie content, if they are to take all their OTT from the same platform.

Boxee may not be the answer for everyone. It is still a little more complex than what the mainstream needs and a few key OTT services – notably Hulu – are still missing. But for Informa’s money, this is the most compelling blend of live TV and OTT that we’ve seen to date. We’d be particularly excited if Boxee adds a DVR, which it says it is considering (although this would be a much harder feature than live to integrate without the support of the operators). And unfortunately for Informa, and anyone else outside North America, it’s unlikely we’ll be seeing this feature rolled out soon, due to the big differences between different Pay TV systems worldwide.

Informa’s IP&TV session at CES saw panellists from Cox, AT&T, YouTube and Sony all debating the future of TV, and what different players in the value chain can gain from partnering with each other. But the big unspoken truth was that wholesale change will be slowed by one group in particular – content producers and owners.

This is something that will not change for as long as the likes of Disney continue to be handed cheques the size of the one they recently received from Comcast. The deal will probably see Disney content disappear from free-to-air OTT outlets like Hulu, ands puts it future in the hands of the old guard more than ever before.

The most remarkable thing about the Disney-Comcast deal is its ten year length. Given the mammoth changes that have happened to TV in the last ten years and that will probably happen in the next ten, it’s a huge vindication of the current model.

Much is made of Google’s ability to disrupt the content game, fuelled by its announcement of a $100m investment in original content late last year, but Francisco Vaerla of YouTube claimed that its content ambitions were much more modest. Its aim, he said, was to create different types of content that did not try and compete against the sport and movie-rich offerings of the likes of AT&T and Cox, and which would not fit in a Pay TV environment.

It seems the most likely disrupting content force, then, will not be a deep pocketed player from any part of the value chain, but from punters themselves. Should enough people start to become disinterested in the big budget fare of HBO, ESPN et al – or at least disinterested enough not to pay through the nose for it – and consider the free, more niche content of YouTube to be a suitable alternative, then the current model would be on shaky ground. It’d be an enormous shift change but lest we forget that, not so long ago, most of us only watched two or three channels. Stranger things have happened.

Google TV has a new interface and new hardware partners

Google has announced that it has brought new hardware manufacturers on board as partners for its IPTV service Google TV.

LG is the biggest name to join the Google TV ecosystem this year and will unveil a new line of Google TV sets running on its own L9 chipset at CES in Las Vegas next week.

“Through Google TV, LG has merged Google’s established Android operating system with LG’s proven 3D and Smart TV technologies, offering consumers a new and enthralling TV experience,” said Havis Kwon, president and CEO of LG.

Chip makers Marvell, from the US, and MediaTek, from Taiwan, have also announced their partnerships with Google and their hardware will power Google TV devices over the coming year. They join Samsung, Sony and Vizio, which will bring Google-TV powered devices to market in 2012.

“Google TV is about bringing new entertainment and innovation from the web to TV and our team along with our partners are pleased to bring more Google TV powered products to more people, across more devices in more countries in 2012,” said Mickey Kim from Google TV’s partnership management team.

Last October, Google launched an update to its Google TV service, which includes a simpler interface and a more “TV-like YouTube experience”, as well as Android Market.

The company claims that since launching the update, it has seen activation rates more than double and it now has more than 150 apps which developers have specifically built for TV.

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A “mystery shopper” survey conducted across the UK’s leading retail chains and pay-TV providers*, revealed that many retailers are ill-equipped to sell these products with the majority of stores having no internet connection, no dedicated in-store section and poorly trained sales staff.

While some specialist and mass-market retailers are providing an increasingly interactive shopping experience for smartphones and tablets, connected TVs are yet to be held in the same regard. Store displays and sales assistants tend to focus on TV screen size and quality when making their recommendations to consumers. It seems that Smart TV features are an afterthought, but with no internet connection in stores their advantages are quite literally not being seen or heard.

This research took place over the busy festive period and was conducted across the main providers of connected TVs including retail chains, specialist electronic stores and pay-TV providers for both a physical and online shopping experience. Each outlet was scored against several factors – range of products, staff expertise, technical knowledge, etc. – which provided an indication of the overall shopping experience. While the retail experience was generally negative, by contrast, manufacturers (e.g., Sony, Apple) proved extremely positive. They promote connected TVs as a highly desirable product, in a dedicated environment and they have more comprehensive websites, which offer links to retailers if not their own retail portals.

Amazon UK offers the closest thing to a comprehensive shopping experience for connected TVs (extensive FAQs, dedicated information pages) but navigation is far from perfect, and connected TVs can be lost amongst broader range of TVs jostling for consumers’ attention.

The situation differs greatly for pay TV, for which consumers are already strongly aware of what on-demand video services are available to them. The service providers (BT, Sky, Virgin) offer dedicated, well-promoted information across more integrated channels. In addition, detailed lifestyle questions ensure consumers are provided with the most suitable products and services – and are open to upselling opportunities.

Retailers have failed to grasp the opportunity that Smart TVs provide them. Now more than ever actually experiencing the user interface and the additional services provided on a TV before buying in a store is paramount. As long as this situation remains the status quo, pay-TV providers will continue to benefit and will be seen as the providers of on-demand and catch-up services to the TV.

*This research was conducted across the leading high street retailers ( John Lewis, House of Fraser ,Currys/PC World, The Sony Centre, Shasonic, Apple and Richer Sounds) and pay-TV providers (BT, Sky and Virgin Media). The customer scenario was to purchase a new TV that connects to the Internet, with a screen size of 32” – 40” with a budget of £400 – 600.

Fig. : Mystery Shopper scorecard, averaged scores

About Informa Telecoms & Media

Informa Telecoms & Media 

Telecoms.com brings you forecasts and predictions for 2012

As 2011 draws to a close, Telecoms.com examines the trends that are defining the industry to see how industry players can best capitalise on the opportunities that will present themselves in the year ahead.

Smartphones – It’ll come as no surprise to anyone in the industry to hear that smartphones sales are expected to continue growing next year.  Statistics from Informa Telecoms & Media reveal that the number of total smartphones sold globally are forecasted to increase from 342.4m in 2011 to 439.1m in 2012.

Google is expected to be victorious in the smartphone market over the year, as it will see 142.59m Android handsets sold in 2012, up from the 94.26m sold this year, according to Informa’s figures. This could be a landmark year for the company, as its Android OS could even surpass sales of Symbian handsets, which are expected to reach 137.26m in 2012. Sales of Apple’s iPhone range, meanwhile, are forecasted to grow from 46.1m units to 52m units globally.

LTE – 2012 will be the year LTE takes off as LTE subscriptions globally are expected to rise from 6.5m to 22.9m over the course of the year.  The two regions that will spearhead the LTE movement will be Asia-Pacific and North America. The number of LTE subscribers in Asia Pacific are expected to grow from 1.6m to 6.9m, while in North America, the figure will reach 10.1m  up from 3.5m, according to the analyst.

IPTV – The popularity of IPTV is expected to continue growing steadily, says Informa. The market is expected to rise from 35.8m subscribers to 44m. Asia-Pacific and Western Europe will be most responsible for this growth, with numbers of IPTV service customers rising from 9.6m to 12.4m in Asia-Pacific and 12.4m to 14.4m in Western Europe. One factor that could disrupt the market is the long-anticipated launch of Apple TV, which is due next year. The launch could spur growth of IPTV if it has anywhere near a similar impact of what the iPhone made on the smartphone industry when that first launched.

Mobile users – 2012 will see more people in developed nations gaining access to mobile phones. India will surpass China to become the world’s largest mobile market in terms of subscriptions, it is forecasted, as it will have added roughly 200m mobile subscriptions throughout 2011. India will also see nearly 590m access lines added to its fixed and mobile networks over the next five years, according to data from Pyramid Research, compared with China’s 535m. Meanwhile, global fixed line broadband subscriptions are predicted to reach 651m. In 2011, that figure stood at 576.8m.

Mobile Banking - Mobile Banking is a hot trend and revenues are set to almost double globally, from $1560.3m to $2880.4m in 2012, according to Informa. This will be spurred by a rise in remote payments globally, which are expected to rise from $644.8m to $1088.8m and the most growth will be seen in the use of mobile international funds transfer services, which is forecast to grow in revenues from $154.9m to $501.3m.

Revenues from mobile banking are set to almost double in many markets across the world, There will be almost a 150 per cent increase in Latin America, where it will grow from $36.51m to $84.27m and revenues from mobile banking will hit $1,486.7m from $890.9m in the Asia Pacific region.

Location-based services – Mobile location-based services are also set to hit new heights, and will generate almost $4,710.8m, up from $3,221.1m in 2011, according to Informa’s expectations.  Personal navigation services will account for $1,917.6m, while enterprise location-based services will drum up $1,655.1m. And mobile social networking will continue to grow. Informa expects the number of mobile social networking users to increase from 316.8m in 2011 to 476.3m in 2012, 218.5m of whom will be from Asia-Pacific.

2011: Predictions for the year ahead

A report from US firm Pyramid Research which details its expectations for the telecoms market in 2012 predicts that managed-network IPTV services will be in one per cent of households worldwide next year.

The global telecoms market is projected to grow four per cent in 2012, compared to seven per cent this year, with the weaker growth attributed to rising volatility and uncertainties facing the global economy. Total worldwide service revenues are expected to reach $1tn (2.4 per cent of global GDP) in 2012.

Mobile broadband is expected to be one of the largest growth areas for telecoms next year, particularly as the price of high-speed mobile computing devices such as smartphones and tablets come down, enabling further penetration in emerging markets.

Broadband penetration is expected to pass 10 per cent globally next year, creating opportunities to provide consumers with new information, entertainment and value-added services.

Pyramid Research does however expect to see a slowdown in Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) deployments worldwide in favour of VDSL rollouts, due to the latter being a much less expensive way to extend higher capacities to customers. This is “certainly the case” in Western European markets, where operators are focused on VDSL expansion.

The largest markets for fibre rollout will continue to be Russia and China, which are favouring a less-expensive Fibre-to-the-Building (FTTB) versus FTTH configuration, according to the report. Middle Eastern operators will continue their push for last-mile fibre access, particularly in the United Arab Emirates and Turkey, with FTTx rollout driving IPTV adoption in a number of countries in the region.

Another bold prediction made by the research firm is that we will witness the beginning of the end of WiMAX in Asia next year, as operators in countries such as Taiwan and Malaysia opt to use LTE instead. Waning operator support is expected to result in declining vendor support and higher prices for the technology and, crucially, the price of end-user devices, which “ultimately determine a technology’s success”, according to Pyramid.

Dish Networks could be bringing and LTE Advanced service to the US under the brand name 'Ollo'

US satellite pay TV broadcaster Dish networks has applied for the trademark ‘Ollo’ as a brand name for its planned wireless LTE-Advanced based services. The trademark applications were filed on 9 November, according to Fierce Cable, and would be used for both equipment such as tablets and phones, and services to provide video, voice and wireless broadband internet.

In August, Dish Networks requested permission from US telecoms regulator the FCC to transfer frequency licenses from its acquisition of bankrupt satellite mobile operator TerreStar, to add to spectrum acquired following the separate purchase of satellite company DBSD North America.

This would give it a total of 40MHz of S-Band spectrum to play with and would enable it to build out an LTE Advanced based wireless service in the US using a 2x20MHz configuration. It would then be in a position to offer a triple-play of voice, TV and broadband wireless to take on cable rivals such as Comcast, and also compete with established carriers such as AT&T and Verizon Wireless and the planned LTE network that Sprint and LightSquared hope to offer on a wholesale basis.

However, by waiting for LTE Advanced, the existing players will all have a head start on Dish Networks’ ambitious plans. While AT&T only launched its LTE service in September 2011, it recently hinted that it has plans to introduce LTE Advanced in 2013.

The next LTE conference is LTE Latin America 2012, taking place on the 17-18 April 2012,at the Windsor Barra Hotel, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.

Wesley Ng, PCCW Media

We speak to Wesley Ng, principal designer of the Stargazr IPTV user interface from Hong Kong telco PCCW Media, which won the category “Broadband Home: Appliances, Devices, Home Networks & Services” at this year’s Broadband InfoVision Awards.

Can you tell us a little more about your entry?

Stargazr is a IPTV user interface which integrates programme listings, on-demand videos, interactive services and personalisation. To streamline the TV experience, the remote control is redesigned with less buttons to improve usability.

With the easy-to-use remote control and onscreen interface, the basic TV controls can be accessed instantly. Discovering programmes and on-demand videos according to user’s preferences is quick and easy, with the simple yet powerful Programme Search function. Texts onscreen are crisply displayed in optimal legibility and readability on any screen size or resolution.

Why do you think the judges selected your entry for this award?

Stargazr is a good example of how broadband services can be efficiently applied to home networks and services. It is multi-function – the simplified remote control, powerful programme search, and personalisation of consumers’ tastes all demonstrate how broadband services can be utilised to the fullest to provide customers with the best home TV viewing experience.

The interactivity feature of Stargazr is also another aspect, which few other broadband products contain. It demonstrates that broadband services can allow enable interaction between human and machine, due to the fast transmission of information.

Information does not only transmit in high speed, it also transmits in a vast volume through broadband technologies on Stargazr. Every second, a gigantic amount of data on programme information is displayed and categorised on Stargazr, reflecting the full capabilities of broadband technologies.

What recent industry developments does it specifically address?

Stargazr specifically addresses the technological aspect of the TV broadcasting industry in Hong Kong. As Hong Kong TV broadcasting companies are switching from analogue to digital transmissions, Stargazr is specifically designed for TVs using broadband digital transmission. It is tailored for full HD widescreen displays.

What plans do you have to improve it in the coming months?

In the near future, we plan to have more personalisation and interaction on Stargazr’s platform. We believe that in the near future, TV experiences will go beyond people’s living room and extend to mobile platforms. So there are TV companion apps planned to work along side Stargazr on smartphones and tablets. Details of the plans are, however, confidential to the company.

What changes do you believe are ahead for the broadband industry as a whole?

The usage ratio between fixed and mobile broadband is changing. More and more users have access to mobile broadband. They even use mobile broadband at fixed points. This is changing business behaviour and the lifestyles of the general public.

Video-on-demand transmission is also increasing. Therefore, a larger broadband connection, enabling faster and greater data transmission, will be required to allow seamless video/TV broadcasts.

How does being selected for this award benefit your business?

Internally, this has increased morale among staff. They feel proud of their work and have become more productive in upcoming projects. Externally, customers gained more faith in our product and are willing to spend more as a result of this award. With the growing publicity, Stargazr is allowed to introduce tomorrow’s TV experience to the public so as to attract more content and more viewers to the TV network.

This year’s Broadband InfoVision Awards were announced during a gala dinner held aboard a river cruise in Paris on September 27th, 2011. For a complete list of winners, please click here