Next-Generation TV Streams Over Phone Lines

[Suhit Gupta]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=6333658&src=rss/technologyNews&section=news' target='_blank'>http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=6333658&src=rss/technologyNews&section=news</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Television junkies of the world, get ready for "Friends," "Big Brother" and "The Simpsons" to phone home. A new breed of TV -- featuring on-demand programs and choose-your-own music video channels -- is delivered over phones lines that are equipped with a high speed Internet connection. TV over phone lines, also known as TV over Internet protocol (TVIP), is already taking root in Europe, with offerings from France Telecom, Italy's FastWeb, Britain's HomeChoice and others. There are many more on the way, with Britain's top fixed-line phone company BT Group in talks with content companies as it prepares to launch its own service."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/tvtonic.jpg" /><br /><br />It is available now as HomeChoice is currently offering about 80 channels and expects their user base to grow to about 20,000 by the end of the year. And apparently, this is not limited to the UK. The FCC here in the US has announced that phone carriers are researching TVIP here at home. This is going to be great news in terms of cutting costs, or at least so I hope. Ever since I switched to Vonage (almost two years ago), my monthly phone bill has less than halved. I wonder whether it will be the same for TVIP.