EXCLUSIVE: Telstra is set to enter the fast growing set top box market with a brand new HD content service delivered via a French made NetGem, Netbox PVR box that is currently under development for the Australian market.
The Telstra branded service is expected to be launched early in 2010.
According to David Thodey the CEO of Telstra the Company is also building out their own content delivery system after rejecting a content delivery system from Cisco.
Also rejected was the Scientific Atlanta set top box which is popular in the USA.
- The new Telstra branded PVR will be used to spearhead the launch of several new home services including movie, music and gaming content as well as free to air TV. Telstra will also offer a home security service as well as the sale of products and services.
The communications Company will also sell media advertising over their content network.
A key feature of the new box is that users will be able to fast forward through TV commercials at more than double the 30 frames per second set down by Freeview.
- The new Telstra PVR which is built around the new NetBox 7600 PVR has features that enable the set-top box to become a HD home media Centre allowing any TV to display content stored on the home network, including videos, music and photos.
Telstra will also have access to a complete portfolio of audience and usage analysis tools, which will allow them to measure audience usage in real time.
SmartHouse has also been told that Telstra has also held discussions with both the AFL and the NRL about the forming a joint venture media Company that could in the future deliver AFL and NRL sporting events to the new Telstra set top box service.
- The Telstra branded box will compete head on with Foxtel and free to air TV networks with some observers claiming that if Telstra is forced to divest their 50% shareholding in Foxtel they will simply roll out programs to their own 100% owned PVR network.
According to research group iSuppli the PVR market grew 50% during the past 12 months and is set to grow even further during the next 12 months.
They have also forecast that the market for « Premium boxes — like DVR-enabled set-top boxes and HD products similar to what Telstra are planning to launch — will grow at a substantially higher rate than the 4.2% level for the overall set-top market in 2009, said Jordan Selburn, principal analyst for semiconductor design and STBs at iSuppli.
In Australia several Companies are looking at entering the PVR market with a new generation of IP enabled boxes. In Australia demand for IP enabled set top boxes are growing with iSuppli claiming that shipments of premium boxes in 2008 almost doubled to 22.4 million systems. A 28% rise is anticipated in 2009.
Telstra Corporation Ltd est le premier prestataire australien de services de télécommunications et d’informations et commercialise l’une des marques les plus réputées du pays. Telstra est la seule véritable société de communication média en Australie qui propose un éventail de services télécoms entièrement intégrés : boucle radio fixe, accès mobile, haut débit (BigPond(R)), informations, transactions et recherche (Sensis(R)), et télévision payante (FOXTEL). En utilisant une suite complète d’actifs réseau et médias , Telstra crée un univers intégré de solutions tout écran minimalistes (monoclic, monotouche et monocommande) qui fonctionnent en temps réel et sont simples, conviviales et plébiscitées par la clientèle.
- + de 9.4 millions de lignes fixes en Australie
- 9.7 millions de clients au service mobile, incluant 5.2 millions de client au service 3G
- 2.7 million BigPond customers
Rappel du 5 mai 2009
Australian telco Telstra is planning to launch a nationwide IPTV service before this Christmas, according to reports in local news portal Digital Media, quoting an « official Bigpond RFI » document which it has obtained.
According to the reports in Digital Media, the Request for Information (RFI) document indicates that the service will provide a combination of free-to-air channels, PVR features, a range of BigPond content services via IP, customised websites like YouTube and Flickr, and open access to high-speed Web services. The tender documents are also reported to reveal that the service will have a « sophisticated e-commerce facility » covering the full range of Telstra’s content from movies, music and gaming, as well a form of cloud computing that allows Telstra customers to access media files on connected computers and storage devices.
Vendors involved in the RFI process have reportedly been pitching to BigPond executives over the past few weeks, although no set-top box vendor is thought to have been selected yet. Teltra is believed to be looking for one vendor to construct, integrate and manage the solution and its evolution, including management and reporting systems, and a « simple wireless/wired plug and play solution ».
« It is expected the vendor will be able to demonstrate compelling and polished visual transitions and sound effects as users of the set-top box operate it e.g. moving from watching FTA TV to the Web and back, » the document is said to state. « The installation should be relatively simple, quick and intuitive. The box should be remotely updatable and have a remote control that simply and elegantly controls the box’s functions.«
Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo has previously gone on record as saying regarding an IPTV launch: « The question now… is how can we make it complementary with other services that we can deliver as we continue to add value for customers. We have lots of thoughts and ideas. » The company is believed to be reluctant to outline a potential service until the government’s plans for Australia’s next-generation network are elucidated. Telstra abandoned IPTV trials, using Microsoft Internet Protocol TV software, in 2005.
A spokesperson from Telstra was unavailable for comment at the time of publishing.
