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To: Chemsync who wrote (28366)	11/5/1997 8:58:00 PM
From: Chemsync	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 31386

[Take a look at Hong Kong VOD Demonstration] netvigator.com Each customer's home is equipped with a set-top box which comes complete with a handheld remote controller. Programmes are centrally stored in digital, compressed form on a video server. They are transmitted along telephone lines to set-top boxes connected to phone sockets and a television, activated only when there is specific call-up from the customer. The major components which go together to provide Interactive Multimedia Services (IMS) are as follows:- Video Compression Although it has long been possible to convert video information into digital form, the quantity of bits generated for analogue/digital conversion is formidable. It is the advent of compression technology that has greatly reduced this enormous amount of data into a more manageable size. Video Server The video server is actually a number of computers linked together, forming a high speed processing platform needed to store and deliver the vast quantities of data represented by compressed, digitised video. The Set-Top Box The compressed, digital video content is delivered via the telecommunications network to the set-top box, whose job is to decompress, decode and reconstruct the television signal into a form acceptable to an ordinary domestic television set. The Network Hongkong Telecom's digital network is responsible for making the connection between the video server and the customer's set-top box when customer requests access to the service. The network also carries commands input by the customer, e.g. programme selection, fast forward, pause etc. back to the video server. (C) Hongkong Telecom IMS Ltd. I took a peek at Apollo 31 ( Yes Houston, 31 ) For 8 HK Dollars. This technology may work!

To: Chemsync who wrote (28366)	11/5/1997 9:12:00 PM
From: pat mudge	Respond to of 31386

[HKT] <<<The ultimate goal must be to ensure that its upgraded network is eventually available to all its rivals at a realistic price. Only then will the full benefits of interactive television be made available to the community. But this will require a firmer hand on the regulatory tiller than has been visible so far. The priority must be to ensure that Telecom is not allowed to abuse its initial monopoly over the provision of such services>>> Steve -- I haven't been following the politcs of the VOD licensing process, but the second article seems a little more balanced than the first. Of course if HKT had lost the license, I'd side with the first, I'm sure. Now that the license has been awarded, I've gone back to my notes and found some of JS's comments: From 6/97 conference call: VDSL --- NEC co-developed 52Mbps. First silicon in August/September; shipping in Feb/March '98 [subsequently moved to Jan]. We have lead in this. Other uses, too. Lower speeds/ longer range. Expect significant product late '98.. . . HKT --- VDSL will be a couple hundred thousand . . . one of our strongest suits. . . [we have] jump on competition. . . . fairly large deployment in '98. Two series of chips: NEC in VDSL has 2 steps: first series out early. . . another better one later. From 7/8/97: July: a few hundred lines, LU short-range Internet product [has] problems with reach. . . . Goal 80,000 lines the first year ramping to a couple hundred thousand a year. . . . What's certain is that HKT is serious about VDSL VOD deployment. Thanks for finding the articles. Cheers! Pat

To: Chemsync who wrote (28366)	11/6/1997 12:11:00 PM
From: Alex	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 31386

Hongkong telecom Article! hi Steve, Pat, Look at the last sentence, think VDSL will fly!! I think the $500/month/subscriber will definitely drop!! "However, there was no evidence of a tougher approach yesterday. Instead Director-General of Telecommunications Anthony Wong Sik-kei defended the high-access charges on the grounds that the winner of a second licence, which the Government is still promising to grant as soon as possible, will not be required to use the company's phone lines. That is scarcely a realistic attitude when this represents the only feasible means of reaching most Hong Kong homes." ^^^^