BBC Monitoring

Text of report by Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency

Islamabad, Aug 18 (APP): Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) plans to launch an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) service in October, Director-General of Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Dr Abdul Jabbar said Saturday [18 August].

"PTCL has won the first licence to launch IPTV service which would be a landmark development in the country's telecom industry," he said. Dr Jabbar said other companies that meet the set criteria would also be issued such licenses.

He said the Authority would monitor the IPTV service on the basis of the parameters being followed regarding electronic channels.

IPTV is a system where a digital television service is delivered by using Internet Protocol over a network infrastructure, which may include delivery by a broadband connection. A general definition of IPTV is television content that, instead of being delivered through traditional broadcast and cable formats, is received by the viewer thr! ough the technologies used for computer networks.

For residential users, IPTV is often provided in conjunction with video on demand and may be bundled with internet services such as web access and VoIP. The commercial bundling of IPTV, VoIP and internet access is referred to as "triple play" service.

IPTV is supplied by a service provider using a closed network infrastructure. This network competes with the delivery of TV content over the public internet, called internet television.

The PTCL project is supported by Chinese telecom equipment giant Huawei and Irdeto, a Netherlands-based content security company. Huawei will provide the servers and set-top boxes while Irdeto will provide content security solutions.

Source: Associated Press of Pakistan news agency, Islamabad, in English 1414 gmt 18 Aug 07