Telecoms operators looking to replace dwindling revenues from voice calls are set to invest more in Internet TV this year, raising total spending on wired infrastructure by 1.6 per cent to $41 billion, iSuppli forecast. The market research firm said on Thursday global spending on telecoms equipment would reach a temporary peak this year but the 1.6-per cent forecast rise looked anaemic in comparison with increases of 10.7 per cent in 2006 and 8.3 per cent in 2005.

Of the $41 billion, iSuppli estimates telcos will spend $9 billion on IPTV-related equipment, increasing investments in their core networks to provide the bandwidth and service necessary to support Internet TV. ISuppli forecasts the number of IPTV subscribers worldwide will surge to 105.8 million by 2011 from 3.4 million in 2006. By 2011, IPTV budgets will rise to account for 20 per cent of telcos' total capital spending, iSuppli predicts.

"The telcos' massive investments in IPTV infrastructure reflect their desperation in the face of the historic decline of their core business in voice communications," iSuppli said. "The telcos hope their massive investments in IP broadband networks and IPTV will pay dividends in terms of a new source of revenue from providing video and other multimedia services to consumers," iSuppli analyst Steve Rago said in a statement.

ISuppli said North America and Europe, with the fastest establishment of IPTV services, would be the main beneficiaries of increased carrier expenditure. In developing nations, carriers would also increase spending as they aimed to make more money from data, iSuppli said, wihle in Japan spending would decline as deployment of fibre to the home slows.

Source: Expressindia.com

In a major initiative, an Indian online private company has launched an on-line tuition service from India and is hoping to have 5,000 British students using it in a year's time. TutorVista, which claims to be the first Indian company to offer services directly to UK consumers, is backed by Sequoia Capital, the venture capital company that provided early funding for Google and YouTube.

"Till now, private tuition has been the preserve of the wealthy costing up to 30 pounds an hour. The UK parents, particularly NRIs, spend millions of pounds a year for improving their children's grades. TutorVista aims to open up such services to the mass market, charging 50 pounds a month for unlimited online tuition," Krishnan Ganesh, founder and chief executive of the company said while launching the online tuition service.

The UK launch comes just ahead of the school exams in May and June. Martin Baker, head of the UK division, said during the trials in the last few months, over 1,000 hours of tuition have been conducted. TutorVista have earlier been launched in the US 18 months ago and has 2,000 students using its services, but it expects the UK growth to be faster.

The company offers personalised tuition services on a 24-hour basis using online technology such as interactive whiteboards, VoIP and instant messaging. TutorVista employs 500 tutors across India who are trained to help students in a variety of subjects including maths, science and English. It offers tuition for children from as young as 9 through to university-level maths and science students.

Source: Expressindia.com