Telekom Malaysia Projects IPTV Launch in 4Q 2009
April 10, 2009
Following the completion of residential trials, Telekom Malaysia plans to provide commercial IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) services starting in the fourth quarter of 2009, according to an April 4 report by Malaysia's The Star Online. Telekom Malaysia expects to transfer the current Streamyx customers of its online TV service Hypp.TV to the company's new HSBB (High Speed Broadband) infrastructure, which it has invested 11 billion Ringgits (US$3.04 billion; US$1=3.62 Ringgits), with partial funding from the Malaysian government, in building. Telekom Malaysia has also earmarked an annual budget of 200 million Ringgits (US$55.25 million) for IPTV content procurement. However, the figure is considerably lower than the annual spending on content procurement by Astro, Telekom Malaysia's main DTH (Direct To Home) service rival in Malaysia. Astro reportedly spends 900 million Ringgits (US$248.62 million) per year on securing IPTV content from international networks, according to IPTV News.