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Tag: Sujata Dev

  • ‘The commercialisation of IPTV will happen as we have a policy in place now’ : Sujata Dev – Time Broadband Services Pvt. Ltd co-founder, CEO & MD

    ‘The commercialisation of IPTV will happen as we have a policy in place now’ : Sujata Dev – Time Broadband Services Pvt. Ltd co-founder, CEO & MD

    Having stitched a deal with state-owned telecom major Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), Time Broadband Services Ltd (TBSL) is preparing for an IPTV roll out in 20 cities across Uttar Pradesh and the eastern region of India.

     

    Armed with an investment from Dubai Investment Group, the company has worked out on the technology front with H.264 AVC, Verimatrix encryption system and Amino set-top boxes.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Gaurav Laghate, TBSL co-founder, CEO & MD Sujata Dev talks about the challenges that are in store for IPTV operators in India and the company’s growth plans.

     

    Excerpts:

     

    Why has a serious IPTV roll out not happened in India despite telecom majors like Reliance, Bharti and Tatas showing an interest in it for the last few years?
    The commercialisation of IPTV will happen now as the legislation has thrown some clarity on the policy issue. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has also given its recommendations. When these were still dark areas, the telcos were in the trial stage. A proper IPTV roll out should happen within the next six months.

    Aren’t there areas of concern as the government is yet to give the nod to some of Trai’s recommendations?
    The policy is not clear whether IPTV providers can downlink directly or it has to be churned through the cable operator. Then there is the pricing issue. We need a similar policy like it is for DTH or digital cable in Cas (conditional access system) areas. If IPTV has to compete with other digital addressable delivery platforms, it has to have a level playing field. For the same content, you can’t have a different pricing.

     

    There is also the ‘must carry’ clause for eight Doordarshan channels while in case of cable it is four. This will occupy 16 mbps (2 mbps per channel). Copyright for IPTV is another challenging area.

    Time Broadband had a franchisee deal with MTNL for providing IPTV a few years back. Why no roll out happened since then while other players like IOL Broadband and Aksh Optifibre went ahead to launch their services?
    Since there was no IPTV policy, we didn’t want to launch commercially. There was no copyright definition for IPTV content. The technology was also evolving. Besides, MTNL worked out a different revenue sharing system with later franchisees like Aksh. We are sorting out our issues with MTNL.

    What was the roadblock on the technology front?
    We had decided on ADSL2+ technology. For a market like India where there is 2 mbps on the last mile, you will need H.264 AVC which was evolving as a technology. We have Amino set-top boxes (STBs) and Verimatrix encryption system.

    Since you were under arbitration with MTNL, what was it that attracted Dubai Investment Group (DIG) to take a 40 per cent stake in your company through its subsidiary Dubai Ventures?
    They were attracted by the knowledge base that we had acquired. DIG has a telecom and IPTV presence in many markets. Time Broadband will be the new technology company which will support their projects in different markets. We have launched IPTV over 2.5G mobile platform in Malaysia. They see us as futuristic telecom company.
    ‘We are be profitable once we reach a 2.5 million subscriber base. For achieving this target, we will require an investment of around Rs 7 billion‘

    How much has DIG invested into the project and who are the other shareholders?
    The company has pumped in close to Rs 1 billion. DIG will continue to invest. We will become profitable once we reach a 2.5 million subscriber base. For achieving this target, we will require an investment of around Rs 7 billion. Aniyan Kutty Kunju, the chairman of Jai Hind TV (a Malayalam news channel), is another shareholder.

    How will you manage to have 2.5 million IPTV subscribers?
    We have signed up with BSNL to roll out IPTV on their network across 20 towns in Uttar Pradesh and the eastern region of India. We are also looking at MTNL. Unlike the private telecom operators, these two state-owned majors have the last mile connectivity. Besides, as content aggregators we have the advantage of even doing business with all the telcos. We are also optimistic about IPTV on mobile phones once 3G opens up in India.

     

    We have created a lot of content for mobile, as the screen and user habits are different. We have lifestyle, yoga, spiritual, music and sports content. We have tied up with IMI for music and different producers for other content.

    What makes you so bullish when the private telecom operators like Reliance, Bharti and Tatas have jumped into DTH as they feel IPTV can have slow growth in the Indian market, at least in the short run?
    The USP of IPTV is the interactivity which is not present in cable or DTH. IPTV has room for interactive and premium content. As for the telcos, they may work out a business model where they offer channels through DTH and rely mainly on interactivity for their IPTV success.

     

    In Korea, gaming has driven IPTV while in Hong Kong it is exclusive and premium content which has brought in subscribers. In India, interactive services and e-learning may drive IPTV.

    State-owned telcos BSNL and MTNL have gone in for non exclusive franchisees to develop their content delivery network. Do you see business feasibility for all of them?
    BSNL and MTNL are limiting their franchisees. Some of the franchisees may have entered to boost their value as they are listed entities. We are in as we see a serious business opportunity in IPTV. We realise that with low ARPUs (average revenue per user) and subsidy on STBs, profitability can come only after five years. IPTV is more part of telecom. We have a serious investor in DIG and have a business plan knowing the hardships of the Indian market.

    For acquiring content like movies, how successful have you been to work out revenue share arrangements with rights owners?
    We believe that is the best model to be in. We have done some deals along these lines. There can also be a MG (minimum guarantee) system for a certain number of subscribers, after which a revenue share model can be arrived at.
  • Time Broadband to manufacture Amino IPTV boxes in India, plans to raise $70 million

    Time Broadband to manufacture Amino IPTV boxes in India, plans to raise $70 million

    MUMBAI: Time Broadband Services Pvt. Ltd. (TBSPL) plans to raise $70 million for manufacture of IPTV set-top boxes (STBs) and expansion of its content delivery network (CDN).

    The company has exclusively tied up with UK-based Amino Communications Ltd. to manufacture AmiNET125 H.264 AVC (MPEG-4, Part 10) compliant STBs in India. TBSPL will have the rights to sell these STBs in India, Middle East and parts of East Africa. The benefit of manufacturing these STBs in India will be to bring the cost below $100.

    “This is a significant development for us as India is a potentially big market for IPTV. We have manufacturing arrangements also in China and Taiwan,” says Amino Communications Ltd. vice president/general manager Roy Kirsopp.

    TBSPL, which has already raised $10 million and got a further $5 million from Dimensions Group, will raise a further $35 million in its second round of funding. This will be towards expanding the CDN for IPTV.

    “We are in talks for second round of investment and have got term sheets. We hope to tie up the funds by February-March,” says TBSPL managing director and CEO Sujata Dev.

    Another $35 million will be raised through sister company Broadband Tech Pvt. Ltd. for manufacture of STBs. The company is in talks with three consumer electronics companies for this. “We are negotiating with three state governments for getting subsidy. We are in talks with consumer electronics companies for the financing and manufacture of the STBs,” says Dev. The company is looking at Kolkata, Chennai or another city to set up the manufacturing facility.

    Amino has been paid an upfront amount of $1 million. “We have guaranteed Amino $10-12 million over 18 months. Dimensions Broadband UK has committed a $7 million exposure for this,” says Dev. The contract involves a fixed license fee and a royalty to Amino on the STBs sold.

    The AmiNET125 STB is designed on the DaVinci SoC chip from Texas Instruments and is integrated with Kasenna middleware and Verimatrix content protection.

    “The deal will enable TBSPL to execute mass deployments of our “MY TIME” IPTV package. STBs play the most critical role in the IPTV business.

    This relationship with a leading industry partner like Amino would further strengthen TBSPL in establishing the business matrix in the Indian market, capable of providing a total end-to-end CDN solution to telecom operator partners intending to launch IPTV,” says Dev.

    Adds Kirsopp: “We see opportunity in India, China and South America. This deal validates our licensing model where we tie up with local partners for local manufacturing.”

  • Times Broadband ready with content delivery network for IPTV

    Times Broadband ready with content delivery network for IPTV

    NEW DELHI: Times Broadband Services Pvt Ltd (TBSPL) has expressed its preparedness with a content delivery network for IPTV which it wants to offer to telecom and cable TV operators.

    “We are ready with 100 TV channels and have set up an agnostic platform,” said Times Broadband CEO Sujata Dev.

    TBSPL had tied up with MTNL to offer IPTV on the telecom major’s network. Now it is also looking at going with other telecom operators as well.

    The company expects 500 channels would come on board their platform for IPTV. TBSPL has already signed up with a few content providers which includes Time Media, IMI, Film and Television Producers’ Guild, Globecast and Star TV. “I cannot disclose the names of many others because IPTV would need a little more clarity as far as regulations are concerned and that would decide on the tariff of pay channels,” Dev said.

    Many broadcasters are hesitant to sign in as content providers because they are uncertain whether the service would be controlled by the Cas rules or treated under telecom or IT rules.

    “IPTV is a value-added service for a telecom operator and we hope that it would be dictated by telecom laws and regulations,” Dev said.

    The formal launch was done by minister of state for urban development and poverty alleviation, Ajay Maken, who declared this (IPTV technology) as an unthinkable revolution.

    Dev in her presentation said that TBSPL would aggregate content from multiple sources and provide the content delivery platform to telecom operators. The company has partners in Hewlett Packard, Optibase, Verimatrix, Kassena and Amino.

    Dev said that at the moment TBSPL is offering 100 TV channels, FTA, and list of pay channels as second tier; 10 feature films through video on demand with fast forward, rewind and pause features; 10 hours of music cutting across genres; 10 hours of interactive games, 10 hours of browsing and 100 TV-to-TV SMS. Later, there would come premium offerings, which will include video telephony on TV with plug-in camera; T-Banking, T-information; T-time shift TV, etc.

    The operation is intended as a conduit between the telecom operators and content producers and providers in the convergence space “In convergence technology there is always some discrepancy against one of the players, and this is where we play the role of the conduit,” Dev said.

  • Time Broadband achieves Asian landmark in IPTV

    NEW DELHI: The Mumbai-headquartered Time Broadband Services Pvt Ltd might not ring a bell immediately, but this media technology company has achieved an Asian landmark.

    Commissioning of a fully integrated content delivery network over H.264 AVC Revision 10 of MPEG4 format as an end-to-end solution on Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd (MTNL) MPLS core and ADSL 2+ access system is the first of its kind in Asia.

    This hi-tech implementation was first recorded on 4 July 2006 at Cavalier Telecom in the USA by Kasenna, which also happens to be Time Broadband’s technology provider.

    “Considering the few weeks gap, the achievement of having a total integrated solution on an emerging technology is certainly a landmark in Indian broadband domain where more than 100 TV channels are to be delivered via digital multi-cast to PC and TV sets by our technology partners,” said Time Broadband MD and CEO Sujata Dev.

    What this means in layman’s language and where does the
    government-controlled telecom company MTNL fit into the scenario?

    MTNL, providing services in Delhi and Mumbai, has associated with Time Broadband to provide IPTV at affordable rates to the telco’s consumers. The services are slated to be commercially flagged off later this year.

    According to Dev, apart from the telephony and internet services, a MTNL subscriber can also subscribe to TV channels, which can be seen either on the consumer’s PC or television set.

    The charges for subscribing to over 100 channels and internet services are likely to be in the region of Rs 400 per month (exclusive of charges for telephone usage).

    Time Broadband, which in no way is connected to the Times of India group, did a trial simulation of the technology in Mumbai on 14 January 2005, the day on which a nation-wide launch of broadband was held by MTNL and its sibling Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL).

    On 21 November 2005, Time Broadband signed up formally with MTNL for providing the content delivery network (CDN) and do content aggregation for MTNL to enable rich-media content delivery.

    MTNL, set up on 1 April 1986 by the government, has a customer base of approximately 5.92 million as on March 2006. The government presently holds 56.25 per cent stake in the company.

    Time Broadband, where Sujata Dev’s husband Amit works as the chief tech mentor, has been initially funded by promoters and has received $12 million mix of equity and debt from global investors to move into full-scale rollout plan to 600 tri-band customers shortly in Delhi.

    Next stage of integration would cover uni-cast or the interactive on-demand media delivery, which is to be completed shortly.

    “In IPTV domain, a major challenge faced by a operator is the integration of the CDN components like middleware, content protection, video-on-demand services and head-end encoding components with set-top box. We could successfully integrate the whole system in past six months along with inputs from our technology partners,” said Dev.

    A unique aspect of the whole venture involving MTNL is the content protection or guarding against piracy.

    The content protection technology used by Time Broadband for MTNL’s IPTV service is being provided by Verimatrix and is a mix of session-based water marking and clone-detection capabilities.

    “Broadcasters like Star, Sony and Zee have approved the content protection system of Verimatrix as also major studios of Hollywood as a key defense against the vandalism of piracy due to the forensic tracking, which is invisible but un-destructible,” Dev explained.

    The video-marking added to 128 bit PKI as per AES norms would offer threshold level of protection to all content. The achievement of technical solution is one hurdle crossed but the issues of Regulation and availability of volume based H.264 STB with ‘session-based water-marking’ is still a challenge to be overcome before commercial launch, Dev adds.

    However, a major hurdle in rollout of IPTV services in India is the regulatory body Trai’s present ambivalence on the status of such service.

    Telecom Regulatgory Auhtority of India (Trai) is yet to decide whether to classify IPTV as a television service or make it part of telecom.

    Both MTNL and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (the biggest telecom service provider in India in terms of reach) control over 95 per cent of last mile
    connectivity in India.

    The remaining miniscule is with some private players, which are finding themselves handicapped to introduce large scale broadband services in the country in the absence of last mile connectivity.

    Though the set-top box needed to access the MTNL Tri-band service is being imported by Time Broadband for approximately $ 160, in the initial stages the boxes are being subsidised to catch consumers.

    Time Broadband would build and own all the elements of this massive city-wide content delivery network with service delivery platform to operate uni-cast and multi-cast services of rich-media, apart from critical sub-system and peripheral devices.