14 DAY TRIAL // When the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) first thought out the uses for the networking system they were devising for military, I think they didn't realize to what extent their idea could be taken to in such a short period of time. Many of the original designers of the large network we now call the Internet, have lived out to see their ideas get carried out and watch the progress this technology has taken over time.
It would be nice to consider that for such an interesting concept, the evolution was so big and it engulfed such a large number of followers that now it has become a factor that some people can't live without. One of the many uses, as I've said, for this network has become the means of delivering high-definition digital to the homes of users around the globe. The Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) is a system through which television is delivered by using a network infrastructure. A lot of companies also add Internet access and VoIP to the IPTV offer, making it what's called a Triple-Play Service.
The fight that is taking place right now involves cable companies and telecommunications providers; each of them is trying to overcome the other offer by giving something more. No one knows who started this exactly, but one thing is for sure, cable companies are delivering Internet access and voice communications through their cable modems, and telecommunications companies are doing the exact opposite, by bringing IPTV through advanced broadband networking which allows for high data transfer rates.
According to iSupply, the number of global IPTV subscribers will go up from 3.9 million in 2006 to 103 million in 2011, a big jump from $960.5 million in 2006 to a staggering $39.1 billion in 2011. The numbers are quite spectacular given the number of current subscribers, but this is what the forecast predicts. That much amount of, again, money is enough to draw the attention of both cable companies and telecommunications companies and throw them in a battle against each other, so that by then, one of the two parties will have undisputed supremacy in this domain.
Frank Dickson, principal analyst for multimedia content services at iSuppli stated that: "IPTV promises to add interactivity, personalization, integration of voice and data and value-added services to television entertainment. Because of the wide variety of services offered by the technology, companies from various industries are being drawn into the IPTV/triple-play fight, sparking intensified competition among market participants."