Telkom has “really narrowed down the options” when it comes to video-on-demand (VOD) services and intends reissuing a tender for the supply of a solution that will allow the telecommunications operator to offer VOD on its fixed-line broadband access network.
Last month, Telkom pulled the plug on an invitation for interested bidders to apply to partner the company in providing VOD services to its customers. It had issued the invitation in February.
“We need to pick the right options for Telkom,” CEO Sipho Maseko tells TechCentral when asked about why the original tender was binned. “We’ve really narrowed down the options in terms of what is possible. The [first] tender took out quite a lot of potential options for us.”
Maseko says Telkom intends reissuing an invitation to apply, but will do it in a way that allows the company to “get what we truly desire out of this. There are so many options out there.”
The company is considering a wide range of content. “It’s not just about music and movies and that sort of stuff,” Maseko says. “We are looking at a whole variety … including gaming and education.”
Last month, when it cancelled its original tender, Telkom said a future tender “will be based on a business model which is more closely aligned to Telkom’s revised business strategy”.
It did not say what it deemed wrong with the invitation to apply or when it intends issuing a new one.
Telkom’s decision to issue the tender earlier this year came after it said it was talking to potential VOD partners, including Netflix, to launch a product. It has been promising a VOD solution for years.
“We have been progressing well with our efforts to deliver the ultimate connected home experience to South Africans,” the company said in a media statement at the time. “We believe that content has a major role to play in truly differentiating the Telkom offering and we are steaming ahead to deliver this to our customers as soon as possible.”
It said then that it was “eager to begin this phase of our connected home journey and look forward to appointing the best service provider to deliver on this key milestone”. — © 2014 NewsCentral Media
