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MeneameChilean authorities should consider adopting the same digital TV standard as other Latin American countries to boost economies of scale when importing TVs, Gustavo Pérez, television manager at Chilean incumbent operator Telefónica CTC Chile (NYSE: CTC) told BNamericas.
"If Chile does not make a good decision it will probably not be in a good position [in market terms] to get cheaper TV sets. If all Latin America selects the same [digital TV] standard, manufacturers will produce the same television set for the region, reducing the cost per unit," Pérez said.
Spain's Telefónica (NYSE: TEF), which owns CTC, launched in Chile last week its first digital TV service in Latin America, a project it expects to eventually offer in Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Argentina.
Chile's telecoms regulator Subtel has been keeping a close eye on the debate in Argentina and Brazil as to which digital TV standard to adopt.
The countries have to choose between the ATSC standard currently used in the US, Mexico, Canada and South Korea; and Europe's DVB standard. Brazil is expected to make a decision over the next two months and Argentina's communications ministry SeCom created this month a working group to advise the government on which standard to adopt.
Both countries also said last week that independent of the standards they choose they would work together to implement a single standard for the Mercosur customs union in the future.
Pérez clarified that CTC's new digital TV service allows clients to receive digital TV broadcasts from any standard without needing to adjust their TVs.
"Chile is discussing the standard under which public television will be broadcasted. This will have an impact on the TVs that Chileans buy over the next 5-6 years, but will not affect Telefónica's clients," he added.
Telefónica's digital TV offering includes two packages: one combining telephony and TV; and the other with telephony, broadband and TV. The company aims to secure a 30% share of the national paid TV market within the next three years.
"The paid TV market is still a niche. We see opportunities in expanding this market, from the current 22% to 25-30%, meaning that one out of three homes should have paid TV services. The first business opportunity is expanding the market. However, we also aim to become an alternative in a market that is dominated by [Chilean triple play services provider] VTR with nearly 90% of the market," Pérez said.
CTC plans to invest US$50mn in 2006 in its television unit, an amount considered within the US$200mn investment plan announced for 2006-2009.
"This is the first step we are taking in television. And we are already working on a new project, IP TV, which will allow us to offer more interaction with our services. We expect to launch it before the end of the year," he said.
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