India to have one million IPTV subscribers by 2011

At the convention, it was emphasised that for IPTV to succeed, companies need to get their act together in the areas of access, content and technology.

IBE 2007 is a new ground-breaking partnership event in Mumbai, and is India's first broadcast technology convention that tackles convergence issues. Across India there are dramatic changes taking place in television, radio and new media. Technology convergence is driving new business opportunities and new business models.

Speakers included IOL wholetime director AS Oberoi, Seachange India MD Vishwajeet Deshmukh and MTNL's Vandana Sethi. IOL launched commercial operations in August in Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore. It has also launched trial operations in other cities like Chennai. IOL offers a content delivery network to MTNL and BSNL.

In terms of access, companies need to have fibre optic infrastructure. A strong DRM system is also needed, otherwise content owners will be wary of parting with their offerings.

IOL considers that IPTV offers the most robust DRM system, which has made it easier for the company to deal with the Hollywood studios. Its VoD service offers thousands of English and Hindi movies. It has also tied up with companies like Satyam for e-learning. The company is also planning to offer games on demand and music on demand.

IBE 2007 is an International Convention created and supported by IABM, representing broadcast and media technology suppliers worldwide.