Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) will be launching its internet protocol television (IPTV) services on a trial basis on August 27. The services will be introduced in Kerala circle for now. On Friday, P G Nirmal, BSNL Kerala general manager for sales and marketing shared the development in a letter to the operator’s business area heads. The company has unveiled the services in the state, however, the services did not start as the ‘acceptable revenue share formula’ between the company, IPTV service provider and the local cable operator lacked.
The company will be introducing the services in three regions of Kerala including Ernakulam, Alleppey and Thrissur. The trial is set to be done for around two months from August 27 to October 31 this year. BSNL said that all users who will register for the IPTV services prior to September 10 will be given a complimentary access to channels that are free-to-air (FTA) for one month. More details on the services as to what exactly the company is likely to charge, will be revealed in the next few days.
According to media reports, IPTV service provider Cinesoft had proposed a fifty-fifty revenue share model to BSNL earlier in May. The plan will enable BSNL to charge Rs 65 per connection. Cinesoft was also to earn Rs 65 per connection therefore, the plan can be accounted as Rs 130 FTA plan. In the initial discussions, the service provider offered Rs 25 per user to the local cable operators for provision of IPTV feed. But the proposed models have reportedly been said to be an unattractive package. Local cable operators currently have better revenue sharing models with other multiple-system operators (MSO).
Meanwhile, it is yet to be seen if the operator has opted for the revenue sharing model that the Sanchar Nigam Executives’ Association proposed. The company is also teasing its services in other states like Gujarat.
