SezMi completes technical trial of digital video

SezMi provides the full video solution, including the content, the customer premises equipment (including set-top box with personalized programming guides) and the remote control that allows individual family members to sign on to the TV and see their own content. SezMi partners with telcos that provide the broadband connection and customer relationships and with digital broadcasters, which reap the additional revenue on their digital spectrum.

Other than the top two US telcos, AT&T and Verizon, telcos aren’t jumping onto the IPTV bandwagon and committing to major fiber upgrades in their networks, Allred said.

“The economics and cost of laying that infrastructure have become increasingly more difficult with the credit crisis,” Allred said. “Every company – Embarq and CenturyTel, Windstream, Fairpoint – is facing the same issues. They are still at a competitive disadvantage if they don’t have a competitive video service that has strong economics. Also, one thing we have noticed is that the sequence of signing up services has also changed. Because you have a cellphone, when you move, you no longer call the telephone company first. You will rely on your cellphone and call your video provider first and if that is a cable company, they are going to put the hard sell on the bundle and be very aggressive on first-year promotions. It’s hard on the landline provider to come in and get that landline back. If you don’t have a video service that is a competitive and you are a landline provider, you are at a significant disadvantage when customers are signing up services.”