Alcatel set to provide add’l services

Alcatel Phils. Inc. is currently in talks with five local operators on the possibility of offering to the Philippine market the capability to provide broadband entertainment services on television via digital subscriber lines (DSL) using the ordinary telephone line.<

Right now, DSL services being offered by local operators like the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., Globe Telecom, and Bayantel, to name a few, are limited to basic Internet access. Alcatel officials confirmed that some of those they are currently negotiating with are these three service providers.

Alcatel officials explained that DSL will now become the integral communication path for residential consumers and will allow them access to a broad range of additional services like traditional video broadcasts, video on demand, online gaming, web services on TV, networked personal video recorder (PVR), voice (enhanced telephony), T commerce and E commerce TV channels.

"The advent of personal entertainment marks another major evolution for DSL, from the personal computer to the networked household appliance," says Alcatel chairman and chief executive officer Serge Tchuruk.

DSL on TV is still in its infancy and countries like Korea, Taiwan, and Japan are in the process of commercial trials. Alcatel supplies the DSL equipment and according to international market research and consulting firm Infonetics, the company had a 42 percent share of DSL port shipments as of end 2001. To date, Alcatel has shipped 15.7 million DSL lines globally, with 8.7 million lines shipped in the US, 3.7 million in Europe, and 3.3 million lines to the rest of the world.

While before video on demand (VOD) is transmitted to the consumers’ TV screens via their cable TV connection, with broadband DSL, one will simply need a telephone line to have not only VOD but also other entertainment services. Via DSL, a growing number of consumers not only have high speed Internet access but also enjoy instant VOD, personalized TV, and online gaming in their television sets.

VOD is a service that allows a subscriber to choose a certain piece of content (like movies) and have that content begin immediately. It is different from pay per view, which happens at a specific time.

Consumers’ interest and willingness to pay for entertainment services are high. A study by the BRG group suggests for example that consumers are willing to pay up to $10 a month for value-added services such as video on demand, online gaming, software rentals and IP telephony.