Telstra is gearing up to launch its ambitious national IPTV service before Christmas, according to the official BigPond RFI obtained exclusively by Digital Media.
According to the document Telstra will be taking on Foxtel, TiVo, and any nascent IPTV plays from the broadcast sector in launching a service that will provide a combination of digital FTA, a full Personal Video Recorder, a range of BigPond content services via IP, customised web sites like YouTube and Flickr and open access to high speed web services.
The carrier has also revealed in the tender documents that the solution will have a sophisticated e-eommerce facility that will cover the full range of Telstra¹s content from movies, music and gaming. The service will also facilitate a version of cloud computing allowing Telstra customers access to media files on the users connected computers and storage devices. While commercial details have yet to be revealed for the servic the carrier is looking at a range of options in monetising the core products that BigPond offers via the web whether ad supported, pay per view or subscription based. These products include BigPond Movies, TV, Music, Games, News and Sports and Photos.
As reported Telstra remains silent on this project and today declined to comment on the details or the intended launch date of the IPTV network.
Vendors involved in the process have been presenting their pitch to BigPond executives over the least few weeks however Telstra has yet to make a decision on who will be supplying the set top box technology. The RFI process is being spearheaded by Jason Romney, Ben Kinealy, Fajob Manoly and Anne Clay.
Under the requirements of the tender, Telstra is looking for one vendor to construct, integrate and manage this solution and its evolution. This includes management and reporting systems for all usage and a simple wireless/wired plug and play solution. "It is expected the vendor will be able to demonstrate compelling and polished visual transitions and sound effects as users of the set top box operate it e.g. moving from watching FTA TV to the Web and back. The installation should be relatively simple, quick and intuitive. The box should be remotely updatable and have a remote control that simply and elegantly controls the box's functions," the document states.
The rich content delivery solution will aim to showcase and sell its video, music, entertainment and information web products via the Telstra network. The solution needs to have minimal customisation of existing BigPond websites such as BigPond Movies. Vendors that were not part of the original closed tender proces are understood tro be angling to get involved in the pitch now.
