14 March 2005
A leading IT expert at Microsoft has hailed internet protocol TV (IPTV) as the immediate future of digital television broadcasting.
Ed Graczyk, director of marketing for Microsoft IPTV, told BBC News Online that the time for telecommunications companies to start providing internet-streamed TV is here.
Mr Graczyk cited increased broadband speeds and availability as the principal factors behind this statement and pointed towards the kinds of integrated entertainment and gaming opportunities the service offers.
"The things software can do to integrate media into devices means a whole new generation of connected entertainment experiences that cross devices from the TV, to the mobile, to the gaming console and so on," Mr Graczyk stated.
Technology analysts TDG Research have predicted that IPTV services will have 20 million subscribers within six years.
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