Internet TV scheduled for 2007

Consumers can expect a large-scale push for internet television services from telephone providers by late 2007 or early 2008, analyst firm Yankee Group has predicted.

Internet TV will primarily target consumers who are unhappy with their existing cable service, according to Adi Kishori, director of the Media Practice at Yankee Group. "All the marketing is going to be aimed at cable," he told vnunet.com.

Satellite TV providers have mostly partnered with upcoming internet TV companies and therefore have less to fear, the analyst stated.

The platform will enable new services, such as the use of mobile phones to schedule digital video recording.

An internet connected TV could be made part of a home network, offering access to digital photos and music stored on computers elsewhere in the home.

Internet TV uses a next-generation high-speed internet connection such as DSL2 or VDSL2 to transmit high quality streaming video into the home.

The new initiatives will give Microsoft another shot at gaining a foothold in the market for TV set-top boxes.

The company has signed deals with most telephone providers to power their boxes after having struggled to deliver a stable platform to cable providers.

Partnering with Microsoft would allay fears in the sector about the technology aspect of their new business.

"The telcos are going into an area that is big and daunting. They are saying: 'We'll just hire Microsoft and they'll just fix it,'" said Kishori.

The analyst noted, however, that telephone providers are wary of Microsoft's past in which it took control of the desktop PC market.

Kishori believes it unlikely that telcos will put their future in this market completely in Redmond's hands.