Indonesia's Telkom to provide TV shows on demand service in 2010

Indonesian government-run telecommunications company, PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) is planning to provide TV on demand service for its internet subscribers through its internet protocol system next year, the Jakarta Globe reported here on Friday.

Telkom expressed confidence that its new Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) service would attract millions of users over the next few years.

"The service will be operational next year, and after two to three years, we aim to have attracted around 40 percent of our 8.7 million fixed-line subscribers," Rinaldi Firmansyah, Telkom's president director, said Thursday.

IPTV, or Internet-based television, allows users to watch TV programs on demand, either through pay TV set-top boxes or through their computers.

Telkom will use its existing telephone cables to deliver the service via Telkom's Pay TV system, Telkomvision, or via the Internet to customers' computers.

To prepare for IPTV system, Telkom has spent 1 trillion (105 million U.S. dollars) to upgrade its infrastructure, Rinaldi said.

He said that Telkom currently has around a million phone lines that can use the IPTV system.

IPTV will initially be available only in Jakarta, but will be offered in five more areas, including Surabaya, Medan and Bali, by 2011, he said.

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