PROSPECTS OF THE USE OF WIRELESS ACCESS NETWORKS FOR IPTV SERVICES

The Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) services are becoming very popular among telecommunications companies most of all because they can provide television programs anytime and anywhere. IPTV is based on protocol IP and supports such features, as bandwidth efficiency and simple management. IPTV can support broadcast and unicast services, such as Broadcasting of TV channels, Video On Demand or Time-Shifted Television. In meantime some of wireless technologies (LTE, WiMAX) are capable of providing high bandwidths and low latencies. It makes them suitable for delivering multimedia services. Besides, some of them also can provide wide area coverage, mobility support, and non-line-of-sight operation. That’s why broadband wireless technologies could be a promising solution for delivering IPTV services anytime anywhere, especially to countryside areas or remote locations. This article describes the various requirements for broadband wireless technologies, which are essential for the provision of IPTV services.