Carriers who have signed on to bring Redmond’s TV technology to the masses are finally showing improved subscriber numbers. Can this be a sign that the promised infotainment interactivity is on its way? Yes, says Businessweek. Microsoft has been trying to elbow its way into delivering TV programming via Internet technology. But despite the hype generated by its moves, only about a half million homes so far get IPTV from their phone companies based on Microsoft software. AT&T has been held up as the example of progress with its U-Verse IPTV service, which it plans to make available to 8 million homes by year end. It claims 126,000 new customers in the third quarter compared to 51,000 in the second. The story says:
Why the holdup? While dumping Google’s (GOOG) grainy YouTube videos onto the TV is relatively easy, getting glitch-free, HD-quality pictures and no-wait channel changing requires massive behind-the-scenes engineering—a process made even more difficult by the cautious pace at which phone companies introduce new technologies onto their networks. Many of AT&T’s customers suffered a 12-hour blackout of their TV service in late October. “People will tolerate being without their phone for two minutes or without the Internet for 20 minutes, but they won’t tolerate their TV going off at all,” Vittore says.
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