IPTV and Ericsson

IPTV is not in the cards for Arris Group. Ericsson has out bid Arris to acquire Tandberg Television. The deal will not come cheap. It is expected to cost the Swedish communications giant around $1.4 billion, but it will also expand its hold on the IPTV market.

Even though Ericsson is making a huge investment in the IPTV industry, it isn’t a sure bet for it or any other company interested in the technology. There is the problems of IPTV stalling in some countries (like the United States) and the competition (Nokia and Siemens are just one joint venture into IPTV).

With this acquisition, Ericsson will add several features to its IPTV service. Some of the new features will include Tandberg’s MPEG4 (which will aid in delivering high-definition TV over telephone and cable TV lines), video on demand, and interactive video.

This is not the first IPTV system acquired by Ericsson over the recent months. It has been working to improve its broadband technology in order to have a complete portfolio for delivering IPTV. It is working with partners to develop some aspects of the service, while doing others on its own.

Ericsson plans to concentrate on IPTV service in the United States, but it will branch out to telephone and IPTV when pitching its services to providers in Europe, Asia, and the rest of the world.