IPTV to Make Big Gains in Asia

Competition between IPTV and cable/satellite TV is heating up in Asia, with IPTV poised to gain significant market share over the next several years, reports In-Stat. With the help of IPTV, incumbent telcos have the opportunity to fundamentally change their broadband customers' video service experience, from traditional video clip streaming to downloading and just plain watching TV.

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

• There were 2.7 million IPTV subscribers in Asia in 2006, and this number is expected to exceed 33 million by 2012.
• Total revenue from consumers of IPTV content broadcasted in Asia/Pacific will reach US$8 billon by 2012.
• Mature markets include Japan and Hong Kong, contributing to about 60% of the total Asia/Pacific subscriber population in 2006; these markets are expected to continue to lead Asia/Pacific in IPTV development.

Conditional access products and technologies are gaining ground due to this growth trend.

Worldwide broadband subscribers to hit 567 million by 2011

Over the past 12 months, approximately 65 million new broadband subscribers signed up for high-speed access to the Internet, reports In-Stat. By 2011, total worldwide broadband subscribers will number 567 million, almost double the current 285 million subscriber base, the high-tech market research firm says.

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

• DSL and cable modem services are the top access technologies, providing 92% of worldwide broadband connections.
• By 2011, worldwide DSL subscribers will account for 58% of all worldwide broadband connections.
• By 2011, there will be over 55 million households using a Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) architecture to provide broadband access.
  

The In-Stat research, "Broadband Gets Big: Global Broadband Subs Hit 285 Million" covers the worldwide market for broadband services. It provides forecasts for broadband subscribers by technology and by region through 2011. It also contains analysis of market drivers and barriers for each of the access technologies.

Social networks face membership and monetization issues

It is know that online communities (social networks) have experienced stellar growth in recent years. However, high tech market research firm In-Stat reports that their future remains somewhat uncertain and sees both membership and monetization as key issues for social networking sites. Only those that can overcome these issues will survive.

In-Stat also found the following:

• MySpace is the most popular social networking website with 140 million members
• 30% of survey respondents pay for premium services or features on social networking sites.
• Site operators are still struggling to find profitable business models. Respondents who indicated no future plans to purchase premium services on social networking websites cited expense and lack of desired services and features as the main reasons for lack of purchase.
• Less than 13% of survey respondents use mobile social networking services. Furthermore, the overwhelming response was that the use of mobile devices for social networking simply was not of interest to them.
• The biggest American generation, the baby boomers, is frequently overlooked.
  

10.6 Million U.S. Households Now Use a VoIP Telephone Service

Cable operators and Vonage are driving continuing growth in the US residential Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone market, according to In-Stat. According to data from the high-tech market research firm's US Residential VoIP Market Tracker service, more than 10.6 million US households now have at least one active VoIP user, up from approximately 9 million households at the end of Q3. The emergence of the cable operators as a dominant market force seems to have slowed the growth of the client-based VoIP market, with only Skype showing gains in this segment during the 4th Quarter.

The firm's service utilizes a combination of end-user research and market analysis to estimate usage and market share among all of the major service providers, network-based providers such as the cable operators, analog-telephone adapter (ATA)-based services providers such as Vonage and SunRocket, and client-based providers such as Skype, on an ongoing basis. Recent research from the service also revealed that:

• More than 61 % of active residential VoIP users reported that they had discontinued or replaced a traditional (non-VoIP) phone service when they got their VoIP service, including a whopping 76 % of those who use only a network/ATA-based service like those offered by the cable companies or Vonage.
  
  
• Skype's dominance of the client-based VoIP market has grown as its major competitors in this segment lost active users during the fourth quarter while it continued to show strong growth.
  
  
• The ability to bypass international tolls continues to be a big driver of client-based VoIP services, with users of client-based VoIP services reporting that 52 % of their VoIP calls are international long distance while network/ATA-based VoIP users report only 6 % of their calls are international long distance.
  
  
• The percentage of residential VoIP users who report that they use their service for business calls either in part or exclusively continues to rise with 51 % reporting that they use the service for both business and personal calls and 4 % reporting they use it exclusively for business calls.
  

Conditional Access in Pay-TV Markets Growing Globally

The strong worldwide growth of digital TV services is driving demand for conditional access (CA) products and technologies, reports In-Stat. At the end of 2006, there were over 175 million households watching digital TV services, the high-tech market research firm says.

While the growth of digital TV households is certainly good news for pay-TV service providers, it also poses an important challenge: How to protect their valuable video content from piracy or illegal usage. This is where CA products are seen as a viable solution as criterias need to be met before content is accessed through digital TV

The research, "Conditional Access in Pay-TV Markets" by In-Stat found the following:

• CA product revenues have been increasing steadily and were projected to reach $937 million at year-end 2006.
• NDS Group plc, is the world's leading CA vendor and currently has 35% of the total worldwide CA market.
• The emerging Telco TV / IPTV market segment is becoming a key proving ground for a number of recent CA technology start-ups companies.
• Worldwide pay-TV industry CA revenues are forecasted to reach $1.5 billion in 2010.

The research also covers conditional access products and technologies in the pay-TV services industry. It discusses why there is a need for conditional access in the pay-TV industry, how it works, and highlights the basic business models in use today. The research also profiles leading CA product vendors, provides current vendor market shares, and discusses key market trends that will shape the CA market in 2007. In addition, it forecasts worldwide revenues for pay-TV CA products through 2010.