Analysts Not Sure SBC Can Meet 2005 IPTV Launch Goal

Some analysts are questions SBC’s ability to meet its ambitous goal of starting its IPTV rollout by the end of this year. The main question marks cited in USA Today’s roundup: Microsoft’s delivery schedule, raising concerns because of tech delays recently announced by Swisscom and the mix of vendors working together for the first time. A misstep would cost SBC and Microsoft.
Microsoft’s Moshe Lichtman says, “We are a little bit behind where we all thought the eco-system would be.” But Lichtman, and Lea Ann Champion, the SBC exec responsible, insist the massive project is on track.
The most dire prediction comes from Heavy Reading analyst Rick Thompson: “It’s possible they might roll out in ’06, but what that means to me is a few hundred or a few thousand in select markets, but realistically I expect ’07 to ’08 to be the service phase.”
The story doesn’t even mention the regulatory issues we’ve been writing about. No one said it would be easy. …

Comments have been disabled for this post