IOL, MTNL launch India's first IPTV

MUMBAI: IOL Broadband on Saturday rolled out India's first IPTV service, enabling subscriber access to digital television services through Internet Protocol, in association with Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL).

The service would be commercially launched on Diwali (October 21), MTNL Chairman and Managing Director R S P Sinha told reporters on Saturday.

State-run MTNL has entered into a strategic tie-up with city-based IOL Broadband Ltd and would provide the services at Rs 199 per month.

"As a first step, we will provide 25 channels, which will go up to 200-250 at a later stage. Initially, the service will be offered to the existing 2.2 million MTNL broadband subscribers in Mumbai," he said.

About the revenue sharing between MTNL, which also provides telecom services in Delhi, and IOL, he said it would depend on the growth rate.

MTNL would provide the infrastructure, while IOL the content delivery network.

On whether there would be opposition from cable TV operators, he said there are enough slots for various players.

IPTV users would be able to receive video-on-demand, voice and content through a single network.