ITV

Tag: broadband

  • Broadband growing rapidly worldwide, says study

    Broadband growing rapidly worldwide, says study

    Research agency In-Stat/MDR has forecast that the number of broadband subscribers worldwide will surpass 46 million by the end of 2002.

    The number of broadband subscribers is expected to grow rapidly over the next three years to surpass 120 million by 2005, according to the agency. The news comes on the heels of figures released by the Federal Communications Commission, The number of broadband connections in the US increased by 33 per cent during the second half of 2001, according to the Federal Communications Commission.

    In late 2001, DSL became the most widely used broadband access technology when the number of worldwide DSL subscribers exceeded 17 million. However, in the US, cable modem subscribers continue to outnumber DSL subscribers by a wide margin. According to In-Stat/MDR, other broadband access technologies such as satellite broadband, Fiber-to-the Home, and fixed wireless service account for only five percent of current worldwide broadband subscribers.

    The number of homes and businesses using high-speed lines to connect to the Internet increased from 9.6 million to 12.8 million lines in the US at the end of the year.

    This compares with a 36 percent rise in the first half of 2001 when the number of high-speed lines increased from nearly 7.1 million to 9.6 million. Of the 12.8 million high-speed lines in service at the end of 2001, 11 million served residential and small business subscribers, a 41 percent increase on the first half of 2001 when 7.8 million residential and small business subscribers could connect to the Net using high-speed lines.

    Around 7.4 million of the total number of high-speed lines in service at the end of last year were advanced service lines that provide services at speeds exceeding 200 kilobits per second (kbps) in both directions. This is an increase of 25 percent on the first six months of the year. About 5.8 million residential and small business subscribers had advanced service lines, according to the report.

    At the end of 2001, the presence of high-speed service subscribers were reported in all fifty states, and in 79 percent of the nation’s zip codes.

    ADSL lines in service increased by 47 per cent during the second half of the year, from 5.2 million to 7.1 million lines, while cable modem service increased by 45 percent, from nearly 3.6 million to 5.2 million lines.

     

  • Sify is webcasting India-England ODIs

    Sify is webcasting India-England ODIs

    MUMBAI: Sify, which works in the area of consumer Internet and Enterprise Services in India with global delivery capabilities, is live webcasting the current One Day International (ODIs) series between India and England.

    Sify senior VP interactive services Surya Mantha said, “This is another first in our quest to provide the most exciting India-centric broadband content for Internet users. Cricket in India goes beyond a national passion- its practically a religion! Now broadband users will be able to watch the ODIs from the office, or from Sify iWays in over 149 cities across the country.

    “The live webcast of the first ODI on 28 March at the Feroze Shah Kotla ground in Delhi received an overwhelming response, and confirms our belief that there is a large and growing number of broadband users who are turning to the Net for all their needs. Our intention is to make www.sifymax.in their home on the web with initiatives such as this”.

    SifyMax holds the internet and broadband rights for India for the live webcast of the one day series. So SifyMax users will be able to view each match live, ball-by-ball, as they would on TV.

    For users who are unable to access the live feed due to overwhelming demand, a live video scorecard is also available on SifyMax. The video scorecard provides video clips of the highlights of the game as it unfolds- how 4’s and 6’s were hit, how the wickets fell, catches and run outs.

    The live webcasts can also be accessed from over 3100 iWay cyber cafes across the country as they all have broadband connectivity.

  • World’s first broadband environmental channel green.tv launched

    World’s first broadband environmental channel green.tv launched

    MUMBAI: The world’s first broadband TV channel dedicated to environmental issues green.tv, developed with support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), has been launched, aiming to become a “one-stop shop” of broadcast information on the environment covering everything from climate change to children’s stories on wildlife.

    UNEP said green.tv would also go live today as a podcast on iTunes as well as having a front-page listing, courtesy of Apple computers. It will carry films from around the world produced by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community filmmakers, public sector bodies and companies with a firm interest in protecting the environment.

    “Green.tv is a truly innovative project which will no doubt influence the field of environmental film-making and research. It will eventually offer a comprehensive ‘one stop shop’ for environmental TV programming – something that has so far not been available,” said UNEP’s Division of Communications and Public Information director Eric Falt.

    “Green.tv has the potential to become a broadband reference point or benchmark in this field.”

    It will have seven channels covering: air, land, water, climate change, people, species and technologies, in each of which there will be a feature, a news item and a children’s story. With the look and feel of a global TV channel, green.tv will combine this with the best elements of the internet, giving users access to online chatrooms and the ability to watch video on demand, UNEP said in an official release.

    Director-producer Ade Thomas, who first thought up the idea, compared it to the popular Google search engine. “If you want to see a news item about climate change, watch a kids’ story about penguins or a feature about wind farms, go to www.green.tv and you’ll be able to see some engaging and thought-provoking films about the environment, at a time when a greater understanding and awareness of these issues is critical,” he said.

  • Airtel launches customer care solution NetXpert

    Airtel launches customer care solution NetXpert

    MUMBAI: Internet service provider Bharti Tele-Ventures has launched an automated customer support service NetXpert. The company, in association with California-based SupportSoft, has introduced the service to its DSL (digital subscriber line, a fixed broadband connection) subscribers to simplify installation and help overcome snags.

    Airtel broadband subscribers in Bangalore will be the first in the country to receive NetXpert.

    The NetXpert suite comprises three applications – Installer, Agent and Chat. With these, subscribers will be able to diagnose and solve problems without making calls to customer care agents. NetXpert is based on SupportSoft’s products for real-time customer support, which are used by 38 million broadband customers outside India.

    Connectivity, browser and e-mail related issues are immediately resolved by NetXpert Agent, while the Installer helps subscribers install their connection without assistance. Installer also automatically detects system and network issues. It is based on SmartAccess, which allows the ISP to save on manpower as there are no longer time-consuming household visits by service technicians, states an official release.

    The Chat application, based on SupportSoft’s LiveAssist, allows Airtel’s customer service representatives to chat online with up to four customers at a time. This reduces the wait time by taking recourse to a different, widespread communication medium, the release adds.

  • ‘Create high impact content to unite audiences and then monetise’: Nair

    ‘Create high impact content to unite audiences and then monetise’: Nair

    MUMBAI: “Distraction is a one night stand, attraction is a marriage,” said Star Entertainment CEO Sameer Nair. Speaking at FICCI Frames on ‘Attraction in the age of distraction,’ Nair stressed on the fact that creating compelling content for an audience who is constantly on the move and has multiple choices available was of utmost importance.

    “Content will continue to remain king. A new generation of media consumers has risen who want and demand content delivered to them when they want it, how they want and where they want it. Power is moving away from the old elite in our industry,” Nair said.

    Nair stressed on the fact that the broadcasters required to create high impact content to unite audiences and then monetise the fragments over time, space and applications. Examples of these that Nair mentioned were The Simpsons, which gained popularity with the television series and also proved to be a rage in the U.S when it diversified into various areas like merchandising and T-Shirts. Also, another example was The Walt Disney Television International with its various divisions like theme parks, merchandising, publishing, licensing, television, theatre, television production and distribution.

    “The number of television channels in the country has also grown tremendously in the last few years. Almost a 100 channels were launched in the last four years,” Nair said.

    He also threw light on the different delivery platforms namely IPTV, DTH, broadband, mobile SMS, multiplexes, gaming, internet that more and more consumers were accessing increasingly.

    Some formats that have worked well for the Star India network are Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), Nach Baliye and The Great Indian Laughter Challenge (TGILC). Star launched mobisodes around TGILC, went online with the KBC game on their website and garnered a huge response from the audiences around the shows. “The important thing is to use 360 degree communication in order to reach unified audiences in a fragmenting environment,” said Nair.