Video on Demand by OTE. But When?
There were numerous references in telecom blogs and news-sites on OTE’s & ODG plans for Video on Demand (VOD) services. Throughout the web, I didn’t found nothing more than a reproduction of ODG’s press release which can be found on their website.
ODG has been selected by OTE to provide outsourced VOD, IPTV solutions. But the question is which access platform will these services be provided on?
OTE currently operates a copper access network offering ADSL2+ services and a satellite service (Hellas-Sat). VOD can’t be offered in neither of those access platforms because they are both inadequate to provide high quality digital TV services due to:
- Current ADSL2+ roll-outs offer average speed of barely 6-7Mbps
- Hellas-Sat’s capacity is being fully used and no extra services can be offered without the deployment of additional satellite(s), or dropping existing customers.
OTE is planning FTTC, that’s no secret; organisation’s executives mention current VDSL pilots , in every occasion. Noone knows when for sure, though. However, if in fact VOD is ready (as various sources are indicating) this year’s fall then we might expect VDSL network to be open for business sooner than anticipated, much sooner.
After Vivodi’s and On Telecoms‘ VOD offerings and Forthnet’s acquisition of NetMed NV, OTE is the next contender to dynamically join the scene with a planned VDSL network better than the competition by an order of magnitude, with no (expressed) regulation plans for it, whatsoever. That’s some serious business.
Hey Guys,
What can I say about the abive posting! I was luckily selected for OTE’s IPTV / VDSL pilot programme. So far I have nothing but the best comments for the services provided. IPTV service is amazing with its picture quality, internet performance is imepecable as well. The setup was very easy out of the box, and for the tech savvy didn’t require too much to do. Regardless I called OTE’s tech support and they were more than helpful in answering my questions, and amazingly professional. I’ll be posting back with feedback on the services throughout my pilot testing. I do have to say one thing extra here! As an American living in Greece, I love the fact that I can now watch my good ole American sports live, with no Greek commentators! Amazing!