Colombian telco ETB will integrate OTT into IPTV service

Over-the-top video is a "must-have" that will be part of the upcoming deployment of IPTV in Colombia, according to Saul Kattan Cohen, president of state-owned Colombian telephone operator ETB.

"I think it [OTT] will be a complement which we must have," said Cohen, who said the telco is "analyzing a few options and will probably have something negotiated in the next few months."

Cohen, in a Q&A with IP&TV News, was careful not to sound too enthusiastic about the non-traditional video source, noting that without good content, OTT will have a "limited" future.

ETB has yet to launch IPTV, but it's getting close. The company purchased a small cable company just to get its license and is now "in the bidding process to buy an IPTV platform," Cohen said, noting that ETB hopes to have its first customers online before the second half of 2013.

"We will be very aggressive in growing our IPTV service," he said. "We will complement our experience with deployment of fiber-to-the-home which will change the future of the service."

Fiber is a crucial element because "people demand more and better services," Cohen concluded.

For more:
- IP&TV News had this Q&A

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