Forbidden from launching IPTV? We’ll go OTT

Juan Pablo Conti ©RapidTVNews | 10-11-2011

Telmex (in Mexico), Telefónica and Telecom (in Argentina) appear to have found the formula to, even when being legally blocked from launching IPTV services over their networks, come up with video offerings.
The three telcos have already managed to distribute video content in these two countries, where local regulations are particularly strict when it comes to allowing former telephony incumbents to enter the pay-TV market.
In the case of Telmex, the Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim's group proved during the recent Pan American Games held in Guadalajara that it was technically able – and prepared – to bring live coverage of the event for over two weeks. It did so through an online TV channel called Uno TV.
In the case of Telefónica and Telecom Argentina, both telcos have launched during the past 12 months their own audiovisual distribution services. They also took to the Internet to do so, opting for typical over-the-top (OTT) business cases and video on demand (VOD), server-based distribution technology.
These are some of the issues uncovered by a new report published by Pyramid Research, titled 'Operators embrace video on demand to overcome regulations stifling IPTV market'.
"Latin America's IPTV market is largely underdeveloped because of its low broadband household penetration levels and the existence of regulatory hurdles in some of its largest economies, such as Mexico and Argentina," said Eulalia Marin-Sorribes, research analyst at Pyramid Research.
According to the consulting firm, such regulatory restrictions have pushed telecom operators to rely on third parties to provide video services. New commercial alliances have emerged that are allowing telcos to position themselves in the competitive pay-TV and triple-play markets.
"In countries where regulatory restrictions on IPTV are still in place, partnering with satellite DTH providers continues to be a good strategy for entering the media/video segment," Marin-Sorribes pointed out.