Several European telcos, including Germany's Deustche Telekom, reportedly are set to announce expansions of their IPTV efforts as early as this week. There are a variety of reasons why, most of which sound familiar: access line decline from mobile substitution, lower revenue per household and more intense competition.
One of the under-acknowledged drivers might be the European Union's desire to create a pancontinental regulatory agency for telecoms that could force all of Europe's incumbent telcos to pursue structural separation.
In any case, the prospects for IPTV's success actually vary widely from country to country. The first launch was in Italy more than three years ago; France now has several IPTV players; rich satellite and cable TV options make things more challenging in the U.K. and Germany.
For More:
- Read this story in The New York Times