What would you call a television system that lets you watch hundreds of channels whenever you want? A system that lets you start a show in the living room and pick up where you left off in the bedroom? A system that would pause when a telephone call from a friend came in, but not when a stranger phoned? A TV that could show a baseball game from a multitude of angles, on demand?
 
Would you call this type of service television heaven, or would the plethora of choices make you go insane?

TELCOS are investing billions and using IPTV, or Internet Protocol standards to get their television services to people’s homes.

 
Starting next year, many Americans will get the chance to find out. That’s when this new type of TV service will launch; it will come not from a cable or satellite provider, but from your local phone company.

Wow! Buying TV from the phone company? As weird as that might seem, phone companies have moved far beyond just selling local and long distance calling. With calls to the U.K. as low as 2 cents per minute, there’s no money left in voice. Telephone calls will soon be as important to the phone companies as telegrams are to Western Union. They’ve been picking up the slack with other products like high-speed Internet access and cellular service.
So TV is just one more potential revenue stream, but one that some of the big players, like BellSouth, SBC, and Verizon think will be a key part of their success. And with cable companies selling their own telephone services, the Baby Bells need to strike back on the cable and satellite turf.

“The phone companies can only play defense for so long with no offensive thrust,” said Ian Olgeirson, an analyst with Kagan Research,in Monterey, Calif.
 
The phone companies’ strategy is to sell consumers a “triple play” which includes voice, data, and TV services in one package, with one bill. Consumers should like the convenience assuming the features and performance are compelling.