At the opening of a new Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) retail store in Alice Town, Bimini, BTC CEO Leon Williams announced that in two weeks, Bimini would be the first testing ground for IPTV, a new Internet television service available next year.
BTC has been interested in Internet Protocol television (IPTV) for some time. Former Cable & Wireless (C&W) CEO Geoff Houston said in March that a TV offering had been planned for a long time, but had been delayed in favor of higher-priority projects.
New Cable and Wireless CEO Phil Bentley and Williams have been across the country proselytizing for BTC ahead of the liberalization of the mobile phone sector, touting a $65 million investment by C&W into BTC for improvements and the expansion of network and product services, including fixed mobile conversion, the launch of IPTV in 11 markets across the region and B2B commercial customer solutions.
Opening the new store in Bimini, Williams explained that IPTV would be free for Biminites through the test period.
"You'll have an alternative to those other fellows and you'll get a taste of what is to come next year when we launch IPTV with all the channels," he said.
IPTV takes advantage of the same "language" used by the Internet to allow information to be sent and received over any broadband or network connection. AT&T, one of the leading IPTV providers, says the technology is "a different, improved technology in comparison to 'traditional' cable or satellite TV, and it allows for more flexibility within the network".
IPTV enables two-way interactivity... The two-way IPTV network means viewers have more options to interact, personalize and control their viewing experience.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian