According to reports from local newspapers, east China's Zhejiang Province has banned IPTV services from the Shanghai Media Group, the only nationally licensed IPTV provider in the country. The ban stems from a dispute with local authorities who claim SMG did not seek local government approval for IPTV services. As a result, Ningbo Telecom canceled its preliminary IPTV agreement with SMG. Insiders say the debacle came about after SMG chose IPTV partners outside of Shanghai, bypassing local authorities. The city of Quanzhou, which is located within the province, banned the service last month when SMG already had a reported 10,000 users in the city. SMG says it's working with the local government to iron out the issue.
For more on SMG's implementation issues:
- see this article from Shanghai Daily News