Aksh Optifibre, in association with BSNL, has launched its IPTV brand icontrol, in Kukus near Jaipur, the state capital of India’s western state of Rajasthan. Aksh claims it’s the first IPTV ever to be launched in rural India.

Simultaneously, Aksh announced the commercial launch of icontrol in Jaipur, which will now enable BSNL broadband customers to avail IPTV service. Subsequently, in 6-8 weeks this service will be available in other cities of Rajasthan.
 
icontrol is a television connection that allows the viewer to watch the programs as per their convenience with more than 120 channels, and an extensive movie library with Hollywood and Bollywood titles at no extra cost, providing an economical medium of entertainment both to urban and rural India.
 
Aksh’s icontrol (IPTV Service) is designed in such a way that it is not only an interactive entertainment medium, but also economically unlike other televiewing services. With icontrol, consumers will experience the power of interactivity and complete control over television as per their convenience. The “i” in icontrol stands for the Interactivity factor currently non-existent in tele-viewing offered by other service providers like DTH or CAS. icontrol IPTV service is economical because of its tariff plans and other convergent services like VoIP and Video Conferencing accessible through IPTV.
 
“It is a great initiative of BSNL and AKSH to provide IPTV service to rural and urban cities of Rajasthan. This initiative will empower villagers with modern telecom facilities and enable rural masses to have global connectivity and content,” said Siddhartha Behura, secretary, DoT and chairman (TC), in a statement
 
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd., formed in October 2000, is the world’s seventh largest telecommunications company, providing a comprehensive range of telecom services in India: wireline, CDMA mobile, GSM mobile, Internet, broadband, carrier service, MPLS-VPN, VSAT, VoIP services, IN services etc.
 
Dr. K.S. Choudhari, MD, Aksh Optifibre, while addressing a press conference said, “Until now, rural India was untouched, with limited medium of entertainment. To eradicate this limitation, Aksh is proud to announce the first time launch of IPTV in rural India at an affordable price. This expansion of the service from urban to rural markets highlights the growing demand for convergent services and interactivity in television viewing in India.”
 
Aksh Optifibre, a public listed company, is a large-scale manufacturer of cable and optical fiber. It has one of the world’s largest single-location manufacturing facilities for Fiber Reinforced Plastic Rods, which goes in to manufacturing Optical Fiber cables.
 
Aksh claims to be the first company to launch IPTV services in India with the largest subscriber base and is already providing IPTV and VOIP services in Delhi and Mumbai, under an agreement with MTNL.
 
Through the recent venture with BSNL, the company plans to roll out and commence its IPTV services to 20 more cities in North India.
 
“UTStarcom invested early and made long-term commitments towards the adoption and growth of the broadband and IPTV in the country. We are pleased to be associated with Aksh and BSNL to take this service to 20 more cities in the country.” said Mr. Vijay Yadav, vice president and managing director, South Asia Operations, UTStarcom.
 
UTStarcom is a global player in IP-based, end-to-end networking solutions and international service and support. The company sells its broadband, wireless, and handset solutions to operators in both emerging and established telecommunications markets around the world. UTStarcom enables its customers to rapidly deploy revenue-generating access services using their existing infrastructure, while providing a migration path to cost-efficient, end-to-end IP networks.
 
Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Alameda, Calif., the company has research and development operations in the United States, Canada, China, Korea and India.

Source:TMCnet