According to a study by Infonetics Research, participating service providers have spent 40 percent of their capital expenditures (capex) on triple play network equipment in 2005 driven by increased broadband revenue per user and new revenue streams. These service providers expect 43 percent to 48 percent of their revenue to come from triple play services between 2005 and 2007. The majority of them plan to further increase their capex spending in the next year on IPTV equipment, broadband CPE, broadband aggregation equipment and voice over broadband equipment. IP voice is a big draw, but IPTV is where all the action is.
However, the most pressing business challenge that these service providers face is securing broadcast and on-demand video content. Last week at NAB, Glenn Reitmeier, NBC's VP of technology standards, policy and strategy, said that IPTV is not a big deal for broadcasters. Looking at the spending patterns and expectations of triple-play service providers from IPTV, content providers should make some extra effort, if not to understand the potential of IPTV, then to make some extra money that will be thrown at them.
For more on service provider triple-play plans:
- see Infonetics Research's press release