SBC and Microsoft to Provide HDTV Over IP

Chroniton writes "SBC Communications (The #1 DSL provider in the US) is announcing new plans for broadband deployment, including internet, HDTV, and VOIP service: "With today's announcement, SBC will significantly accelerate its previously planned deployment pace and now plans to reach 18 million homes by year-end 2007. Through Project Lightspeed, the company will deploy 38,800 miles of fiber - double the amount used to build out the company's DSL network - at a cost of $4 billion to $6 billion."

This comes in response to an FCC ruling which shields IP-based networks from traditional telecom regulation. Speeds are expected to reach 15-25 Mbps, enough for HDTV: "To take advantage of this new network, SBC companies and Microsoft have begun testing an IP-based switched television service based on the Microsoft TV IPTV platform. This infrastructure would enable features such as standard and high-definition programming, customizable channel lineups, video on demand, digital video recording, multimedia interactive program guides and event notifications. IP-based television services will also allow TVs to interact with other devices in the home, including computers and PDAs." More details available here and here"

The real question is...

[elid]

...how much will something like this cost to the consumer?

Ahh, I see...

[l33t-gu3lph1t3]

So this is how they're getting around the godforsaken regulatory hell that is telecommunincations in the USA. Clever. And by partnering like this, Microsoft begins its battle to take over the digital TV distribution industry.

Too much TV

[FiReaNGeL]

For me HDTV isn't too exciting. Higher resolution. Ok. I never noticed my TV's resolution was not adequate. Don't we have too much TV anyway? With the added possibility to record (Tivo) 40 hours / week of shows that I don't have time to listen to... TV is a productivity and social interaction sink.

Hurray for the 'turn all TVs off' device!

Re:Michael Powell to change this ruling in 5...4..

[mrgreen4242]

Well, Powell is a bad example, as is Bush Jr., but would it really be fair to say that just because you are someones son you really aren't able to do your job?

dont want to ba$h but..

[DeepFried]

think about how exciting this would be if you replace the word Microsoft in that article with any number of other companies..Sony, Apple, Viacom.

While no corporation is altrusitic, I wouldn't immediately jump to the "how are they going to screw me on this one" conclusion.
Sad state of affairs.

Re:80-100Mbps in Japan and Korea

[Anonymous Coward]

We don't pack 150 million people into an area the size of california. Regulations and infrastructure reflect this.

Re:dont want to ba$h but..

[mrgreen4242]

Out of that list, I would be equally sceptical of all of them... I like Apple and all, but if they were running this you could only watch HDTV on their new $5500 iTV, and if it were Sony you could replace iTV with AtracTV.

Now, if they replaced MS in the article with, say, EFF or the Mozilla Dev Team, I would get excited. ;-)

Re:Two times the yay factor

[cmacb]

As an expert on "YAY!" (using the term many times a day) I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about.

I don't think SBC is bigger in the DSL area than Verizon (who also partners with MS) and it (SBC)is a smaller company as well.

Remember the Dot-Com Bust? Well just before that companies layed fiber all over the damned place. It's all sitting down there with the earthworms being sold off for pennies on the dollar, so everyone in the "Comm" industry had "big plans" for how to use it. Remember we are all going to be downloading movies onto our TIVO boxes courtesy of Netflix. Why would we want to stream movies onto a box running an OS full of viruses?

I'll bet big money that SBC is taking ALL of the risk on this and MS will sit on the sidelines collecting a piece of the action... if any action actually materializes. And if it doesn't (which is probably won't) they'll walk away from it very quietly.

And, um, yes, you will continue to get those annoying phone calls.

Do you really have to ask?

[sulli]

Badly.

Re:HDTV over IP?

[Anonymous Coward]

those are not even close to hdtv... they look great and watch them on my xbox but, its not even a quarter of the resolution of hdtv... insightful? for shame.

HDTV on IP - no thanks, I'd rather surf the net

[Magickcat]

Whilst developing all these new television technologies, perhaps someone will eventually consider that the majority of television programs are terrible regardless of their high quality sound and pictures etc.

Whether the program is interactive or on demand, or how it's delievered, doesn't matter to me so much as what I'm actually watching. and I'm getting less and less impressed every year.

I find myself watching less and less television, and using the Internet more and more. As for the phone, most people I know use it mainly to talk about television. I'm getting close to the point where I almost solely use email.

Poster is full of it

[Anonymous Coward]

Read their press release. Microsoft isn't mentioned in there anywhere! Editors need to RTFA just like the rest of us.

Also, I don't see how a company bringing Fiber within 500 feet of your house is a bad thing? With the FCC's ruling, anyone is free to fork out the dough to bring fiber right to your door and doesn't have to share the line with anyone. SBC is one of the only ones going out there and doing this. And remember that if you don't like it, you aren't being forced to buy it! This isn't like the phone service and 9-11 fees that the government forces you to pay for.

FYI: I work for SBC so I take a bit of offense being lumped in with a Monopoly that WASN'T broken up

MS is late to the party

[Wesley Felter]

Companies like Minerva and Pace have TV over IP stuff that works and is deployed today. Microsoft is going to have to offer something either cheaper or better if they want to take over the TV over IP market.

Before or after the monopoly?

[WindBourne]

Based on past history, It will most likely be next to free until all other providers are gone. Then it will be anywhere from 4x to 100x, what you would normally pay.

Re:The other question: how crap will this be?

[gomiam]

Errmm... aren't we talking television over IP here? If it's only a one way transfer (a la streaming), latency isn't so important: what do I care if I get the video with a 20 secs delay from the source? It's not like I am going to answer, right?

Please be so kind to tell me if (and why) I am mistaken.

Re:The other question: how crap will this be?

[kinzillah]

I think this is why they are pairing it with a new high speed network they are building.