The commercial IPTV network is initially designed to support 51,000 users in Shanghai, which is also the largest city in China with a population of 18 million. The number of broadband subscribers was approaching two million at the end of the first quarter of 2006.
We believe that RollingStream is the best-in-class IPTV solution in the market. It is a mature, IP-based platform that is designed to provide carrier-class, end-to- end triple-play services to carriers worldwide, said Ying Wu, chairman and CEO of UTStarcom China.
Prior to this deployment, China Telecom Shanghai selected UTStarcom to deploy an initial 5,000-user IPTV network in November 2005. The success of the pilot led the company to choose UTStarcom as the leading equipment supplier for IPTV service in Shanghai.
Partnering with Shanghai Media Group (SMG), a multimedia television content provider, China Telecom Shanghai plans to offer subscribers a service package of live broadcast television and videos-on-demand. Additionally, the service is designed to offer subscribers time-shift capabilities the ability to pause and rewind live television, as well as storage to record any program and watch on each subscriber’s own schedule.
