IPTV Celebrates 2nd Anniversary in Korea
IPTV Celebrates 2nd Anniversary in Koreatelevision (IPTV) in Korea. IPTV delivers television and movie content in real-time
via broadband Internet networks as opposed to traditional TV, which is broadcast
through radio frequencies, cable connections or satellite signals.
The Korea Communications Commission, the Korean broadcasting and telecommunication
regulator, held an anniversary ceremony in December, which was attended by the
leaders of the Korea's three IPTV service providers - KT, SK Broadband Co. and
LG U+.
The Korean subscribers to IPTV services in Korea will soon break the 3 million
mark. Korea is the fourth-largest IPTV service provider in the world after France,
the U.S. and China.
"IPTV has reached schools, military barracks, regional day care centers
and some culturally isolated areas," KCC head Choi See-joong said at the
ceremony. "With more investment and collaboration with content providers,
[the KCC] hopes [IPTV] will compete with companies like Google, Apple and Microsoft."
According to the KCC, the number of channels provided by the three companies
rose to 300 this month from 251 a year ago. In particular, the Korean IPTV service
is noted for its wide selection of education and sports content.
Now, the industry is seeing a key transition to "smart TV." Smart
TV is similar to IPTV in that it's Web-based. But the biggest appeal of Smart
TV is the availability of applications or "Apps", like those enjoyed
on smart phones, which is fueling their use. Samsung and LG have been rushing
to introduce the latest versions of smart TVs and soon IPTV will evolve into
smart IPTV.
