By Alex C
The first fibre optic television service is set to debut in Nigeria with ipNX Nigeria Limited, leading fibre optic cable network provider and emerging multi-systems operator, announcing an addition of television services to its Fibre Optic Service (FoS). This product bouquet makes it the first firm to offer Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) service in Nigeria.
Mr. Ejovi Aror, ipNX’s group managing director, explained that the commencement of the IPTV service aligns with the company’s strategic objectives when it began the roll-out of fibre optic network cable system for residential and business customers.
Aror disclosed that set-up boxes have been delivered to one thousand subscribers of ipNX Fibre Optic Services that are test-running ipNX TV for functionality, reliability and content.
Currently, feedback from these customers is now being used to fine-tune the television system before its public launched. This development is positioned to offer a new form of personal entertainment when compared to what most consumers of digital satellite television in Nigeria are already used to.
Tunbosun Alake, head, ipNX media and entertainment subsidiary, noted that ipNX TV is an entertainment service that enables one chose what one wishes to watch, when one desires to watch and how one wants to watch it.
In other words, ipNXTV is a platform that any content producer or aggregator can take advantage of to reach millions of viewers nationwide in a reliable, stable and secure manner. Interestingly, this is another way of describing features such as Catch-up TV, Video on Demand and Multiscreen device support which are some of the unique prepositions of ipNX TV.
ipNX TV carries a blend of both live TV channels and video on-demand (VOD) covering a large array of genres that include news, movies, lifestyle, education, religion, music etc. that enable viewers to personalise such services for maximum entertainment.
The new TV service runs on a fibre optic cable technology which unlike satellite service is not affected by rainfall and other inclement weather conditions.
While ipNX TV and other television content producers and distributors can collaborate to improve quality of service to Nigerian consumers both in content and quality of service, ipNX FoS took the telecoms industry by storm when it announced new residential broadband packages with speeds starting from 10Mbps for just N10 ,000 monthly and another package offering N15Mbps priced N15,000 monthly late last year.
FoS services at that time was only available in select parts of Victoria island but it now largely available in Lekki, Ikoyi and also expanded to Magodo and Ikeja areas of Lagos State as well as FCT Abuja.
In recent times, the country has witnessed the rise and fall of several indigenous companies that have ventured into the direct to home and cable television business market which ironically DSTV , a South African company has continued to run successfully in the Nigerian territory.
The launch of ipNX TV, which its Nigeria’s first multi system operator to deliver Triple-play services i.e. internet, television and telephony to its clients is similar to what Verizon and AT&T are doing in the United States of America (USA).
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