OTE in Greece to Deploy Ericsson IPTV Systems

Greek incumbent telco OTE has selected Ericsson to supply and integrate an IPTV system. Ericsson will deploy headend systems from its Tandberg Television subsidiary, a middleware application, video on demand system and a customised consumer portal. The Ericsson IPTV solution will enable OTE to offer new services to its residential broadband customers, including broadcast TV channels, video on demand, an electronic program guide, and PVR capabilities.

OTE is joining On Telecoms offering IPTV services in Greece. This shows the extent that IPTV has proliferated across Europe.

On Telecoms Offers IPTV in Greece

On Telecoms is a competitive carrier in Greece that offers broadband, IPTV, and VoIP services over an ADSL-2+ broadband network. It offers three broadband bundles:

• IPTV and VoIP for 27 euros per month.
• VoIP and Internet for 32 euros per month.
• IPTV, VoIP, and Internet for 35 euros per month

It currently offers 30 broadcast channels and 1,200 video on demand titles. The video on demand titles are offered at prices that range from 1.99 to 2.99 euros. It also offers 3 days of catch up TV.

On Telecoms currently has about 45 thousand subscribers with about 3 thousand video on demand views per week. More that 80 percent of its broadband subscribers subscribe to IPTV services. The companies expects strong growth in its IPTV service and believes that it will ha e 300 thousand IPTV subscribers by the end of 2010. It is the only IPTV service in Greece today, but expect that other carriers will offer IPTV services in the future.

On Telecoms looks like it is on its way to establishing a strong IPTV service in Greece. Its technical leadership came from FastWeb in Italy and is quite experienced in both IPTV technology and marketing. This is certainly a strong background.