Taipei, May 26, 2008 (CENS)--Microsoft and Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan`s No.1 telecom carrier, will co-launch an operation called IPTV Ecosystem Development Center in Taiwan to zero in on the Internet-based TV market, which is put at US$30 billion in revenue in 2010.

The operation will see Microsoft offer its Mediaroom platform for IPTVs while Chunghwa integrating systems. The operation will work with Taiwan`s set-top box makers and content providers to tap markets overseas.

Senior officials of Microsoft Taiwan pointed out IPTV is a crucial part of Microsoft`s digital home concept and the solid manufacturing strength of Taiwan`s high-tech industry convinced Microsoft to work with Chunghwa on the operation.

Chunghwa`s executives said IPTV is still in infant stage at worldwide level and tapping the market requires a system integrator capable of doing research and development. Chunghwa`s Telecom Laboratory, they said, makes the telecom carrier the right choice in the partnership thanks to its strong research and development capability.

The number of IPTV subscribers is close to 10 million worldwide. iSuppli estimated around 3.1 million set-top boxes for IPTV service were shipped worldwide last year, yielding a revenue totaling US$1.1 billion. The market-research organization forecast the global shipments to top 39 million boxes in 2011. Industry watchers estimated TV market revenue to total US$240 billion in 2010, with IPTVs accounting for US$30 billion.

Chunghwa has contracted Tatung to supply 50,000 IPTV set-top boxes. Tatung is so far the only Taiwanese box supplier licensed by Microsoft. In light of Chunghwa`s upcoming contracts for a total number of 1.87 million boxes, Taiwanese manufacturers including Hon Hai Precision Industry, Asustek Computer and Zyxel Communications are struggling to win the license. Chunghwa plans to offer Beijing Olympic Game telecasting on IPTVs.

Worldwide, licensed suppliers include Motorola, Cisco, and Philips.

Microsoft has won orders for its IPTV platforms from telecom carriers including AT&T of the United States, Deutsche Telekom AG of Germany, and Reliance of India.

Microsoft and Chunghwa are gearing up to tap the mainland Chinese market, where only one IPTV-service license has been issued.

Foreign Manufacturers`  Deployments in Taiwan`s IPTV Market

Manufacturer	Microsoft	Ericsson	Alcatel-Lucent
Partners in Set-top Box	Tatung	Zyxel and Wistron Netweb	Asustek and Hon Hai
Partners in system integration	Chunghwa Telecom	NA	HwaCom Systems and Chunghwa System
Current situation in Taiwan	10,000 of Chunghwa’s subscribers are using Microsoft platform	No users so far	480,000 of Chunghwa’s subscribers are using Alcatel-Lucent platform

Sources: The manufacturers

(by Ken Liu)