GVT plans hybrid system to offer TV service
Valor Econômico
Despite the lack of definition regarding the regulatory issue on the sector of Pay-TV, GVT keeps with the schedule of launching its Pay TV service in the second half. The strategy of the telephone carrier is to offer a hybrid solution, adopting the technologies of DTH (satellite dish) and IPTV (Internet Protocol Television). The combination gives the company a legal excuse to operate in the segment. The original plan was to offer only IPTV, but to do so the carrier depended on the approval of complementary bill of law (PLC) #116, which so far has not happened. The text is going through the legal procedures in the Senate and there is no deadline for a final voting.
GVT, however, is in a hurry. It wants to take advantage of the strong expansion Pay TV has experienced in Brazil. According to calculations of the carrier, the market will double in size in five years, reaching nearly 20 million subscribers. "There is a very large potential in the Brazilian market", said, yesterday, Régis Turrini, VP of Strategy and Development of Vivendi, French media and telecommunications group that controls GVT. The Executive made a presentation at the Global Convergence Forum, event sponsored by Accenture, in Rio.
In an interview to journalists, Turrini did not want to provide details on the products that will be offered by GVT. In his lecture, however, he said that even the basic packages will have content distributed in high definition. The possibility of recording programs and rewinding it and watching a program that has already begun were other features mentioned by the Executive. Turrini declared Pay TV is little disseminated and it has high prices in Brazil. He, however, avoided saying whether the offers of GVT will be cheaper than those of the competition. "We will probably be more aggressive", he said.
GVT has planned investments of R$ 1.8 billion (US$ 1.13 billion) for this year, and nearly R$ 200 million (US$ 125 million) of it will be intended for Pay-TV services. In the next 12 months, GVT also plans to launch broadband plans with speeds of 35 megabits per second (Mbps) for R$ 100 (US$ 62.50) a month - half the current price, said Turrini. According to him, the carrier also wants to offer 50 Mbps at affordable by 2013.