UTStarcom named the leading IPTV provider in Asia in Multimedia Research Group's latest Global IPTV Market Leaders Report. The in-depth analysis tracks the top 100 IPTV vendors in 24 regional sub-segments. UTStarcom's strategic IPTV deployments and strong subscriber gains drove the company's rise to the top in the Access, VOD, Set-top-Boxes, Middleware and Content Protection categories.

Smart Digivision and SeaChange International have been honored for their consumer service innovation on the breakthrough MyWay IPTV service at this year’s Global Telecoms Business Innovation Awards. Rolling out across India with a world-class offering of on-demand and personal television applications, Smart Digivision’s MyWay takes full advantage of SeaChange middleware, digital video systems and professional services.

AORA has selected TANDBERG Television encoders and multiplexing for over 50 channels of standard-definition content, which are broadcast in MPEG-4 AVC over satellite. AORA will be using TANDBERG Television’s award-winning PREKOR dynamic pre-correction system for Satellite Modulation. AORA was launched in August 2008 initially with a 10 channel introductory service and exclusive Indonesian rights to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Barclays Premier League football. AORA is the first Pay TV operator in Indonesia to utilize MPEG-4 AVC.

SK Broadband has deployed Harmonic’s Direct-2-Edge solution — encompassing Harmonic’s NSG 9000 universal edgeQAMs and D2E control software — for the world’s largest commercial launch of cable IPTV to date. The landmark deployment enables SK Broadband to provide a uniform broadcast IPTV service across its cable, xDSL, and FTTx access networks, providing substantial operational efficiencies and advantages. Subscribers can also receive uninterrupted, high-speed Internet access of up to 150 Mbps to the home, powered by Harmonic’s NSG 9000 using a modular CMTS architecture and delivered to a DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem.

Verismo Networks announced ACT Television’s launch of IPTV and triple play services based on Verismo’s VuNow Internet TV platform. ACT Television’s deployment initially targets 100,000 homes in Bangalore, India and marks the first ever interactive IPTV service in Bangalore.

UTStarcom has been selected as the only technology supplier for the first Mobile Television system across Hainan province, driven by China Telecom's Hainan branch. This is the first large-scale Mobile TV system in China to adopt UTStarcom's end-to-end RollingStream platform. The deployment is scheduled to go live on May 17, 2009, as an extension of the existing IPTV service that Hainan Telecom and UTStarcom have been delivering since 2006.

Sigma Designs highly integrated SMP8654 media processors will be used to power Celrun’s TD-1100 STB which has been selected by telecom provider LG Dacom to be deployed throughout Korea. As part of this collaboration, Sigma’s chips have been integrated into Celrun’s TD-1100 set-top box and will support real-time IPTV streaming along with VOD services.

Chunghwa Telecom has deployed a broad range of Harmonic’s content management solutions in support of its Multimedia-on-Demand IPTV service expansion. The upgrade has enabled Chunghwa Telecom to offer its IPTV customers a number of advanced interactive services, including multi-channel digital mosaics and time-shifted access to major events and programming, such as the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The enhanced IPTV offering has been very well received; Chunghwa Telecom serves over 4.3 million broadband subscribers throughout Taiwan.

Verimatrix announces that its Verimatrix Video Content Authority System for IPTV has been deployed to protect IPTV services to Bharat Sanchar Nigam customers. The state-owned telecommunications operator has embarked on a nation-wide launch in conjunction with Smart Digivision Private, and is planning to serve more than three million IPTV subscribers in 93 cities over the next three years.

Ericsson will deploy a metro aggregation network for Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom, ensuring high-quality, high-capacity broadband services, such as IPTV and e-health, for both fixed and mobile access.

According to Chunghwa's market forecast, there will be an eighty percent coverage of 30Mbps broadband network in Taiwan by 2011. Ericsson's Marconi Optical Multi-Service solution will be a key component assist Chunghwa to take a leading position in this market.

Bharti Airtel debuted its Triple Play Service with the launch of Airtel digital TV interactive – it’s IPTV Service. With this, Airtel delivers the Triple Play Advantage of Telephony, broadband and Entertainment Service to its customers. The Triple Play Service will be initially available to customers in Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida starting January 19, 2009.

Microsoft announces that Guangzhou Digital Media Group has formally launched Zhujiang Digital, a connected TV service powered by the Microsoft Mediaroom IPTV platform. This is the first Mediaroom-enabled TV service to launch in China and the first time Mediaroom has been delivered over a cable network anywhere in the world.

The new service, available to residents in the Guangzhou region of China, also includes the first deployment of the Mediaroom Anytime feature set, which will take time-shifted TV to the next level in China. Announced at 2009 International CES, Mediaroom Anytime will let subscribers access previously aired shows from their Interactive Program Guide and immediately restart currently airing programs without any preplanning or prior digital video recording.

CCID Consulting and the first Chinese consulting firm, recently released its article on China's IPTV market. In 2008, with China Telecom's vigorous promotion, China's number of IPTV subscribers grew rapidly, up 100% year-on-year. The rapid growth drove the development of IPTV's equipment market, and with the promotion of free and bundling marketing, subscribers in Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong have taken shape. However, telecom operators have found it difficult to gain profit in IPTV. In 2009, because of global financial crisis, telecom operators' capital and resource investment in IPTV promotion will meet tests. How to guarantee the IPTV market's sustainable development has become the whole of the industrial focus for IPTV.

TV-Desi and JumpTV launch a new IPTV service delivering the largest selection of live South Asian television content to viewers in the United States and Canada. TV-Desi is the first IPTV service dedicated to the Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities in North America delivering a television viewing experience. This subscription-based service provides live content in superior video quality using a broadband Internet connection and unique set top box technology.

Verimatrix is expanding its presence in Asia-Pacific with the opening of its new regional headquarters in Singapore. The new office forms the hub of Verimatrix's regional footprint, which is complemented with a series of additions to its Asia-Pacific sales and support team based throughout the region. Verimatrix addresses the content security needs of the growing IPTV operators in the region, and has extended its focus to the needs of broadcast and cable pay-TV providers as they undergo the conversion to digital format.