Latin America Undergoes a Major Shift in Business Models With IPTV

Latin American Telecommunications and Entertainment Industry Undergoes a Major Shift in Business Models With IPTV, States Frost & Sullivan

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — The telecommunications and entertainment industry in Latin America is experiencing a major shift in business models bringing with it new services such as Internet protocol television (IPTV), new competitors, and new challenges that includes digital distribution of content.

IPTV refers to the delivery of digital television and other audio and video services over a broadband data network. It can deliver live and on-demand digital television and video services through set-top boxes and similar devices to television sets or personal computers (PCs) in standard and high-definition formats. IPTV is different from Internet TV, which is essentially a method for streaming video content to the user over the unsecured Internet.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Internet Protocol Television – Is Latin America Prepared?, finds that the IPTV services will reach 2.2 million subscribers in Mexico for the year 2012 if the incumbent company has the legal attributes to provide this services with in its portfolio.

When IPTV was launched, it did not have the optimal infrastructure for adequate deployment in Latin America

“Currently, broadband penetration allows IPTV to be deployed efficiently and some Latin American countries are beginning to provide the service,” says Frost & Sullivan Consultant Jose Manuel Mercado. “However, legal barriers and continued lack of infrastructure in some countries in the region are slowing the pace of its use.”

Presently, for instance, service providers in Brazil and Argentina have not gained regulatory approval to offer this service, limiting consumers’ pay TV options and restraining competitiveness. In other countries such as Mexico, with a widespread broadband penetration, only one company, with limited clients, provides the IPTV service, while the incumbent Telmex, with almost 5 million accounts, does not have the legal approval to offer the service.

“IPTV is a key opportunity for operators not merely for the revenues it could generate, but also as the best method for service providers to increase their subscriber base, incorporating quadruple services to their clients, and providing value-added services in a sector where the average revenue per user (ARPU) decline is beginning to affect operators,” concludes Mercado. “Wireless-integrated multiple access (WiMAX) deployment is a better way to offer the service to rural and marginal areas in Latin America.”

Internet Protocol Television – Is Latin America Prepared? is part of the Communications Services Growth Partnership Services program, which also includes research in the following markets: Mexican Telecommunications Services Markets, IPTV in Latin America, VoIP in Latin America 2008, and Latin America Data Communications Services Markets. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.