Off the back of rapid growth of Internet-based media, SA's second national operator, Neotel, is in the process of implementing a new broadcasting platform.
Neotel's executive head of technology, Angus Hay, says over the next two months, the company will deploy its content delivery network in Johannesburg. The solution is based on BitGravity, a technology partly funded by Neotel's parent company, Tata.
The platform essentially allows companies to tackle the online streaming of video and, according to Hay, the solution is not solely for the broadcasting market. “We are targeting the CDN at media distributors, who want to deliver their content around the world,” adds Hay.
Neotel says, while it is offering a platform for Internet media streaming, it is not playing in the broadcasting game. “This is off the back of our wholesale offerings, and we are not claiming to be a content provider,” explains Hay.
Internet media falls squarely in the middle of the convergence game, where network and telecoms providers and broadcasters meet in terms of technology. Globally, hundreds of companies are looking at providing triple-play services, which includes the broadcasting of video across data networks.
Neotel is likely closely watching the Independent Communications Authority of SA for any sign of regulating Internet TV. The regulator opened a can of worms last month when it released a discussion document on the possibility of regulating Internet TV offerings.
With hundreds of TV shows and movies available for purchase and download via the Internet, and many video services like YouTube, or its local counterpart, Zoopy, free to the consumer, the regulator will have a million problems to skirt if it decides to go ahead and regulate the market.
The regulator has called on potential providers to discuss whether to separate broadcast IPTV services from Internet services, like Zoopy, which currently fall outside the regulator's mandate. Neotel will likely submit its opinion, although it seems unlikely that the regulator will govern the kind of play that Neotel is now offering.
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