Franchise Battles Speed IPTV Rollouts

FRANCHISE BATTLES SPEED IPTV ROLLOUTS, SAYS REPORT
[SOURCE: Telecommunications Online, AUTHOR: Bob Wallace]
The four-way battles now raging around the question of municipal, state or national franchise agreements for "Telco TV" video services will see the telcos ultimately prevail over cable operators and local governments, according to new analysis from ABI Research. This would mean an accelerated deployment of IPTV video services to customers, and increased sales of set-top boxes, according to the research and consultancy. "We are at the cusp of a strong run-up in IPTV subscriber bases over the next year or two," says principal analyst Michael Arden. "The telcos have sympathy at the higher levels of government, and in general the principles of encouraging competition and preventing monopoly mean that the telcos will be victorious in this battle. It’s just a question of when."
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