Siemens Inks Deal To Provide IPTV Solution In China

Siemens Communications has signed a deal with China's Shanghai Telecom Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Media Group (SMG) for the first commercial deployment of its Home Entertainment Internet television (IPTV) solution.

The Siemens solution will allow Shanghai Telecom to deliver a turnkey IPTV solution to an initial group of 5,000 subscribers. The service will include advanced applications like video on demand, personal video recording functions, and video phone service. Subscribers will also be able to participate in i9nteractive IPTV services like on-line gambling.

"It was especially important for us that all applications be easy to operate and that they run on the television set as the interface," Siemens Communications president of fixed networks solutions Andreas M?ller-Schubert said in a statement. "We are designing the entire menu system in accordance with Shanghai Telecom's wishes and will be installing a turnkey wall-to-wall solution that contains both entertainment and communication offerings, such as online gaming and fast Internet access.”

The IPTV consumer market has immense potential in China, where telecommunications carriers have been aggressively deploying advanced broadband networking to the premises. According to In-Stab, the number of IPTV subscribers will soar to 4.5 million by 2008 and account for $231 million in set-top sales.