Real World Applications of IPv6 from NTT Communications
NTT Plala Takes Hold Of The Future With Hikari-TV
Hikari-TV is a broadband content distribution service that allows hundreds of thousands of subscribers in Japan to enjoy multiple TV channels and tons of video content at home. It’s also the first large scale, commercially successful IPTV over IPv6 service.
The Hikari-TV service, which is operated by NTT Plala Inc., comprises 76 channels (including high definition (HD) channels), more than 10,000 video on demand titles, and over 13,000 titles in its karaoke service. It is accessible to consumers via a “Broadband button for Hikari-TV” on the remote. Available with several types of Set Top Boxes, TOSHIBA and SHARP provide Digital TVs that include the “Hikari-TV” function.
Hikari-TV service comprises 76 channels, more than 10,000 video on demand titles, and over 13,000 titles in its karaoke service.
The real-time broadcasts of high or standard definition TV and multi-channel TV are implemented using IPv6 multicast over NTT’s Next Generation Network (NGN), a closed end-to-end IPv6 over fiber to the home (FTTH) network. NTT Plala receives live broadcasts from TV stations, and encodes and simultaneously delivers the broadcasts to subscriber households over the Hikari-TV Content Delivery Platform.
Gartner, Inc. estimated worldwide subscriptions to IPTV would reach almost 20 million subscribers in 2008, a 64.1 percent increase over 2007. IPv6 is not oly the future of the Internet. It’s the future of television as well.
Why They Did It
For IPTV, IPv6’s basically infinite address space offers scalability for a large number of always-on customers. This creates end-to-end IP address transparency between the company and the customer, simplifying applications like broadcast IPTV, VoIP and P2P applications. IPv6 promises lower capital and operation expense for operators and lower prices for users due to its simple, hierarchical network configuration. What’s more, IPv6 offers a number of enhancements for multicast and quality of service support.
Where Will They Go Next?
The growing interest in IPTV combines increased broadband penetration with the capability of integrating television with other IP based services on a home network. Internet access and phone service, video on demand and karaoke, and opportunities to make TV interactive, offer tremendous possibilities for this broadband connection.
Get There With NTT Communications
Hikari-TV is the first successful IPTV over IPv6 service. Run by NTT Plala, Inc. and distributed through NTT East and NTT West in Japan, NTT Communications knows IPv6. We can help to make your transition seamless.
