BSNL, Goa, is all set to roll out two advanced services in the state - IPTV (cable television on telephone line) and the GPON, a very high speed internet service through fibre-optic cable.
BSNL deputy general manager Sujeet Kumar told TOI that for launching IPTV in Goa, the BSNL "network is ready and we can feed the service", but BSNL needs a franchisee to operate the service. Among other things, the franchisee will install the set top boxes for reception of the service.
Viewers will have to buy the set-top boxes and then pay a monthly subscription charge ranging from 100 to 300. The IPTV service will have "video on demand" facility whereby viewers will be able to select and view any of the movies, educational programmes and other content from the IPTV library. Additionally, IPTV will also have "audio on demand" content for customers to choose from.
The IPTV service, when launched in Goa, will have arrived a little late as DTH (direct-to-home dish TV) has already captured a sizeable portion of the market. There are apprehensions whether viewers will want to pay for another set top box.
But Kumar said IPTV has some advantages. For example, IPTV's "video on demand" can be controlled by the viewer. In other services, the video is being played out at fixed hours and if the viewer misses a segment of the broadcast, he misses it totally. But in IPTV, the viewer can watch the video like he was watching a DVD. He can pause it, then re-start and re-watch it for the period it is available for viewing.
Kumar said BSNL, Goa, was supposed to launch the service in October, 2010. But the franchisee backed out and the service had to be shelved. BSNL head office in Delhi is finalizing a new franchisee for Goa to operate the service. Kumar said BSNL has already launched IPTV in nearby Kolhapur, Pune, and many other cities like Nagpur, Jaipur and Bangalore.
Another future generation service that BSNL is hoping to launch soon in Goa is GPON - a very high speed internet service through fibre optic cable to individual homes. While the existing broadband internet speed on copper telephone wires is about 8 mbps, GPON will give internet users blazing speeds of 100 mbps, Kumar said.
"We have already installed the equipment in 13 of our exchanges. But our difficulty is to lay fibre optic cables into individual homes and flats because building residents don't allow us to lay the cables on walls where the cables will spoil the aesthetics," Kumar said, adding that with GPON, video downloads will be much faster and IPTV quality will be far superior.
BSNL does not have a single GPON connection in Goa. But BSNL is already talking to building contractors in places like Dona Paula, Panaji and Socorro to install the fibre optic cables in their under-construction buildings.
Kumar said that the price will be about 10% higher for the equivalent speed but customers do have the option for going for very high speed internet, which is now not available in broadband.
BSNL deputy general manager Sujeet Kumar told TOI that for launching IPTV in Goa, the BSNL "network is ready and we can feed the service", but BSNL needs a franchisee to operate the service. Among other things, the franchisee will install the set top boxes for reception of the service.
Viewers will have to buy the set-top boxes and then pay a monthly subscription charge ranging from 100 to 300. The IPTV service will have "video on demand" facility whereby viewers will be able to select and view any of the movies, educational programmes and other content from the IPTV library. Additionally, IPTV will also have "audio on demand" content for customers to choose from.
The IPTV service, when launched in Goa, will have arrived a little late as DTH (direct-to-home dish TV) has already captured a sizeable portion of the market. There are apprehensions whether viewers will want to pay for another set top box.
But Kumar said IPTV has some advantages. For example, IPTV's "video on demand" can be controlled by the viewer. In other services, the video is being played out at fixed hours and if the viewer misses a segment of the broadcast, he misses it totally. But in IPTV, the viewer can watch the video like he was watching a DVD. He can pause it, then re-start and re-watch it for the period it is available for viewing.
Kumar said BSNL, Goa, was supposed to launch the service in October, 2010. But the franchisee backed out and the service had to be shelved. BSNL head office in Delhi is finalizing a new franchisee for Goa to operate the service. Kumar said BSNL has already launched IPTV in nearby Kolhapur, Pune, and many other cities like Nagpur, Jaipur and Bangalore.
Another future generation service that BSNL is hoping to launch soon in Goa is GPON - a very high speed internet service through fibre optic cable to individual homes. While the existing broadband internet speed on copper telephone wires is about 8 mbps, GPON will give internet users blazing speeds of 100 mbps, Kumar said.
"We have already installed the equipment in 13 of our exchanges. But our difficulty is to lay fibre optic cables into individual homes and flats because building residents don't allow us to lay the cables on walls where the cables will spoil the aesthetics," Kumar said, adding that with GPON, video downloads will be much faster and IPTV quality will be far superior.
BSNL does not have a single GPON connection in Goa. But BSNL is already talking to building contractors in places like Dona Paula, Panaji and Socorro to install the fibre optic cables in their under-construction buildings.
Kumar said that the price will be about 10% higher for the equivalent speed but customers do have the option for going for very high speed internet, which is now not available in broadband.