MTNL to offer India's first internet TV service in Delhi, Mumbai from November

17 October 2006

The service will utilise MTNL's existing broadband network as the content delivery backbone and will be available to all MTNL broadband subscribers in the two metros.

MTNL will offer this service to its broadband subscribers using its existing broadband network. The service will initially offer traditional television broadcast, time-shifted TV (where the last one week's television content aired on any channel would be available at the push of a button), video and music on demand and video-calling on TV facilities.

The software, hardware, service set-up and content delivery will be managed by Aksh Optifibre Ltd. MTNL will function as the service provider taking charge of operations and revenue collection. Aksh will provide the IPTV service to MTNL using the RollingStream proprietary technology developed by UTStarcom, a global leader in the manufacture, integration and support of IP-based, end-to-end networking and telecommunications solutions.

Registrations for the MTNL-IPTV service will opened from 25 October, 2006, and commercial operations will begin from 1 November, 2006.

"Consumers expect services that are both innovative and affordable from MTNL," said RSP Sinha, CMD, MTNL. "The possibilities with IPTV are endless. Video-on-demand, audio-on-demand, game-on-demand, video-calling, tele-medicine, e-distance learning, virtual classrooms are some of the innovative applications of IPTV.

MTNL has 1.52 lakh broadband subscriber in Delhi and 1.83 lakh in Mumbai.