The market for IPTV (Internet Protocol Television), which enables TV broadcasting over broadband Internet, is expected to take off in China next year as fixed line operators seek ways to grow, an industry executive said yesterday.

Visitors crowd in front of IPTVs presented by UTStarcom at a telecom exhibition in Beijing. The market for IPTV (Internet Protocol Television is expected to take off in China next year. [China Daily]

"IPTV could get a head-start next year in China," said Huang Dabin, vice-president of the network division of China's No 2 telecoms equipment maker ZTE Corp.

In an interview with China Daily on the sidelines of the ITU Telecom World 2006 in Hong Kong, Huang predicted the number of IPTV subscribers in China could exceed 1 million next year, skyrocketing from the current 100,000 subscribers.

Fixed-line operators China Telecom and China Netcom have been aggressively building trial IPTV networks since last year. This year, some commercial IPTV services have been operational in cities such as Shanghai.

"Fixed-line carriers are putting a big bet on IPTV as one of the top priorities of their business transformations, as IPTV promises a new revenue stream," Huang said.

China Telecom and China Netcom have been coping with a slowdown in their fixed-line voice businesses. The two firms have been lobbying the government for a licence to enter the lucrative mobile phone sector.

But the government has been denying the licenses, forcing the two fixed-line operators to promote Xiaolingtong, or PHS (personal handyphone system), a limited mobility service in the country.

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