IPTV equipment and service revenue is expected to hit $44 billion over the
next three years, according to a new report by Infonetics Research.
The research firm said worldwide IPTV
Europe, the Middle East and Asia is the leading region for IPTV service revenue.
Subscribers in the Asia-Pacific region, where faster forms of DSL such as VDSL2
are stimulating subscriber growth, almost doubled from 2004 to 2005.
The report further states that IPTV subscribers in North America will
increase four-fold between 2005 and 2009.
By 2009, Infonetics expects IPTV equipment revenue will be $6 billion and
service revenue will climb to $38 billion. Worldwide IPTV equipment revenue
topped $400 million in 2005.
“Service providers expect huge returns from IPTV, and they are investing
heavily in IPTV infrastructure to ensure those returns,” Jeff Heynen, an
Infonetics analyst, said in a statement.
Currently, broadband providers with DSL and Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH)
services account for the majority of service revenue.
“Right now they’re focused on transport infrastructure, upgrading their
access networks with higher-bandwidth ADSL2+, VDSL2 and FTTH platforms, and
adding IP edge routers and Ethernet routers and switches to handle the
expected traffic demands of the escalating numbers of IPTV subscribers,”
Heynen said.
According to the report, IP set top box (STB) revenue currently accounts for
42 percent of IPTV equipment revenue as providers purchase MPEG-2 STBs.
Infonetics predicts IP STB sales will nearly double every year for the next
three years.
Infonetics also expects cable broadband providers to migrate to all IP-based
services in the next few years.
