[Sydney, AUSTRALIA] Western Australian telco Cable and Telecoms (CaT) has formed a joint venture
alliance with U.K.-based Yes Television to launch Yes TV’s video on demand and
iTV products in Australia and New Zealand.
The joint venture will be operated through an Australian company to be named
Total Television Australia, owned 80 percent by CaT and 20 percent by Yes
TV.
Yes TV is currently involved in a U.K. pilot with BT in the U.K., offering video
on demand, Internet access and e-mail services to 400 homes via ADSL. In
Australia Yes hopes to offer similar services through the joint venture,
including the development and deployment of IP-based entertainment and
information services.
CaT is to provide the local market knowledge including negotiation of
network access arrangements, sales and administration support, and
introduction of alliances.
Total Television plans to conduct “an in-situ demonstration of the product
in a leading developer’s Melbourne apartment block.” The pilot will be held
over a three-month period from March to May 2001.
If the trial is successful, the joint venture’s service will be launched
over a 12 month period, Cable and Telecoms told the ASX, culminating in a
nationwide launch of the product in “appropriate geographic and demographic
locations.”
Cable and Telecoms mentioned “existing telecommunication infrastructure that
is available in Australia such as ADSL and fibre optic cables” as the
delivery platform to the service. The announcement follows iTV trials in the
local market launched by WIN TV and Cisco venture ICE Interactive.
