TeliaSonera’s new head of TV and Content has high hopes for broadband-based HDTV

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TeliaSonera, the largest telecommunications company in the Nordic Countries and the Baltic States, is seeking further growth in TV and content services.
      For the new role of Head of TV & Content of its International Business Area Broadband Services, TeliaSonera has appointed Janne Yli-Äyhö, 44, who was previously responsible for the Sales & Marketing unit of the same business area in Finland.
      Yli-Äyhö will start in his new position at the beginning of September.
      "A big change is under wayt in the television field, in which the viewer’s power to choose what to watch is increasing. Terrestrial networks do not satisfactorily meet, for instance, the consumer's interactivity and subscription service needs", Yli-Äyhö says in summarising his view of the branch.
      Yli-Äyhö will be stationed in Helsinki, but his role is to further develop the TV content and technology services in all of TeliaSonera's market areas.
     
In July, TeliaSonera Finland announced that it would incorporate digital TV channels into broadband subscriptions. The service will be rolled out in Finland during the autumn.
      In Sweden, nearly 200,000 TeliaSonera customers are already watching digital TV through their broadband connections.
      Competing service provider Elisa started its own broadband-based TV services in Finland already back in December 2006.
      "I believe that high definition television will be the next big thing. This demand will hardly be satisfied by increasing public services", Yli-Äyhö predicts.
      In the capital area, TeliaSonera already has a superfast fibre optic network that covers around 100,000 households. This network makes it possible to transmit HDTV programmes through broadband.
      "This network is expandable according to demand", Yli-Äyhö says. TeliaSonera already has a comprehensive agreement, for example, with the Foundation for Student Housing in the Helsinki Region.


Links:
  TeliaSonera press release

Helsingin Sanomat