Hotel and multi-dwelling unit (MDU) markets could provide a financial shot in the arm for IPTV service providers.
According to a recent report by In-Stat, growth opportunities abound for IPTV providers when it comes to bringing services to high-density environments such as apartments. In-Stat said the market for deploying IPTV services to high-density apartments would exceed $6 billion by 2013.
While hotels also provide a financial opportunity for IPTV and cable providers, the downturn in the economy may mean that hotels will hold off on their upgrades for the near term, according to In-Stat.
Examples of wins in the MDU market include Time Warner Cable (story here), and RCN (story here).
“Deploying IPTV in the MDU market is a no brainer for service providers,” said In-Stat analyst Amy Cravens. “Deploying IPTV in high density environments offers significant cost savings compared to single-family housing markets. In this economy, services providers are looking to maximize the return for every infrastructure investment dollar, and MDU deployments provide just that.”
Recent research by In-Stat included the following:
- Nearly 70 percent of MDU IPTV in the United States will be deployed with Fiber to the Home (FTTH)
- The slump in single-family housing is prompting providers to shift interest to the MDU
- Regionally, Asia-Pacific is the largest opportunity for subscriber growth in the MDU
- While the MDU offers significant advantages for the provider after securing access to the building, negotiating entry can be difficult
- Competitors BNS, Guest-Tek, iBAHN, LodgeNet, and Verizon are among those targeting the Hospitality and MDU market for IPTV
