IPTV Benefits From Broadband Investments

US providers' broadband investments are paying off for some IPTV advocates, as fast and reliable connections encourage operators and subscribers to invest in these services.

Although MobiTV began selling its white-box IPTV solution and services more than a decade ago, it only launched sales to US cable operators and other customers less than two years ago, CEO and Chairman Charlie Nooney told Broadband World News.

"We did a lot of international work as we waited for the US market to open up to IPTV and in the last 18 months we have been going really hard with cable operators, moving them from their traditional set-top box and high-cost infrastructure to IPTV devices delivered over retail devices that provide the cable operator with a competitive solution to Netflix, Hulu, AppleTV, etc.," he said.

Competition from over-the-top (OTT) players, as well as wider broadband availability and providers' growing emphasis on both the customer experience and home WiFi, will only further boost the IPTV market, predicted Nooney. Add in 4K TV, increasingly sophisticated voice controls and the surge in spending on content and live sporting events, and video over Internet will skyrocket, he said.

Worldwide revenue for IPTV is expected to reach $93.59 billion by 2021, compared with $34.67 billion in 2015, according to A to Z Research. IP video traffic will represent 82% of all IP traffic -- business and consumer -- by 2021, versus 73% in 2016, Cisco's The Zettabyte Era reported.

Cable operators are not the only ones revisiting existing infrastructure and contemplating IPTV. Municipalities and utilities also are investigating how they can leverage their current or planned broadband deployments and relationships to generate new sources of revenue or services, Nooney said.

"One of the surprises I've seen... is we have been approached by a lot of municipalities and a lot of electric companies. They have an existing relationship with a customer; in many cases they have a billing relationship, which is extremely important," he said. "I think you will see some continued growth and continued entry into the marketplace by some of these municipalities, some of these cities and some of these power companies."

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• BBWF: G.fast, Video, NG-PON2 & a New Way of Thinking

— Alison Diana, Editor, UBB2020. Follow us on Twitter @UBB2020 or @alisoncdiana.