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Personalised TV content available 'soon`

By Itumeleng Mogaki, ITWeb junior journalist
Johannesburg, 20 Oct 2005

The broadband evolution will soon enable end-users to personalise television content, by storing personal content on an operator`s network.

This is according to Bernard Grave, Alcatel`s, Marketing and Solution Architect Director for Africa, South Asia, Middle East and France, who addressed the media at a forum on evolving to universal broadband in Sandton yesterday.

End-users will have the ability to control and personalise TV content, he claimed, via, for example, Alcatel`s new Triple Play IPTV, a solution that combines voice, data and video and can be used on a TV, PC or a mobile phone.

While Triple Play applications are already being deployed in France and Italy, Triple Play will become a full reality by mid-next year, and will provide fixed network operators with an opportunity to get involved in the IPTV evolution and reshape the communications landscape, Grave said.

The company has already started talks with network operators in some African countries, as a way of marketing the triple play end-to-end solution, said Linda Khumalo, Alcatel`s deputy CEO.

Local infrastructure challenges

"Considering the low broadband coverage locally, a lot needs to be done. We still have infrastructure challenges. Aggressively rolling-out more infrastructure would enable more local users to have access to the triple play service," said Khumalo.

He would not say when SA could expect to access the triple play service, adding that adoption rates, given global market trends, should be at 20%.

Redefining TV

Triple play redefines the end-user`s TV experience, connecting TV, PC, and telephone together on one bandwidth, Grave said.

Instead of receiving three different services from three different operators, triple play comes in a consolidated package, thus lowering the total cost for the user.

"Triple play enables IPTV, which has the capability to pre-record TV programmes, carry personal content - such as a recorded event, receive calls and take video messages," he said.

Legal implications

"Every country has its own regulatory framework or legislation in place that permits a specific distribution of broadcasting information," said Khumalo, referring to the possibility of legal infringements. Law enforcers need to be involved, he said, to avoid piracy issues.

"It is always difficult to avoid piracy. Maybe soon we will have a technology in place that could prevent it," added Guillier.

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