BSNL launches internet TV in UP

The era of Internet Protocol Television, popularly known as IPTV, has dawned in Uttar Pradesh with the public sector telecom giant Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) launching the services here today.

The services, inaugurated by Department of Telecommunications (DoT) Secretary and Telecom Commission Chairman Siddhartha Behura, have been launched in association with Smart Digivision Private Ltd.

Lucknow is the tenth city where internet TV has arrived after it was first launched in Jaipur in August this year.

By March 2009, the state-run telecom major hopes to launch the services in 85 more cities and towns.

Besides Lucknow, the services would also be available at Allahabad, Kanpur, Varanasi and Kanpur in the state.

Using a high-speed BSNL broadband connection and the Smart Digivision set-top box, the customers would be able to connect to a set of interactive personalised features via their TV.

“The launch of IPTV in UP would go a long way in not only entertainment, but ushering in Television Commerce (T-Commerce) and boosting the state’s economy,” Behura said after the launch.

Meanwhile, the 3G services, which have already been launched by MTNL, will soon be launched by BSNL.

“Both MTNL and BSNL have received spectrum to launch 3G services and the private operations will also receive their spectrum by the end of January 2009,” Behura said.

Meanwhile, BSNL will soon be launching an entertainment portal, which will have a library of thousands of films and video songs, besides games and shopping utilities, according to BSNL Broadband GM Anil Jain.

He underlined that the next decade would belong to broadband revolution and from the present level of 5 million subscribers, by 2010, the country would have an estimated number of 280 million broadband subscribers.