Interview with Jeffrey Soong, CEO of BNS Ltd

Jeffrey Soong has over 20 years of experience in the fields of entertainment, technology and international finance.  Hong Kong-based BNS Ltd supplies IPTV and IP-based content and technology solutions to operators across Asia, and its operator clients include Hanaro Telecom, Telekom Malaysia, PCCW, True and many others.

ipTV News: First of all could you please tell a little bit about BNS’ background and approach to the IPTV arena?

BNS is headquartered in Hong Kong and has been operating in the IPTV arena in Asia for over four years, with regional offices in Beijing, Taipei and Singapore.  We take a holistic approach when designing a service which involves looking at the three critical elements strategy, content and technology as interconnecting components that form the cornerstones behind a successful service deployment.  We also look at the domestic landscape and then look to differentiate our client’s offering from what’s currently available.  Depending on our client’s specific needs, we can offer a one stop, turnkey solution, or a specific service, such as content aggregation or systems integration.

What are the strengths of BNS’ solutions?

Right from the start we have focused purely on IPTV, and as an open platform provider we don’t have any ‘legacy’ problems, and can thus look for best of breed solutions that will ensure an operator’s network is future-proof.  What I mean with that is that we look at tailoring a platform to each individual service operator’s specific requirements and market environment, now and into the future.  This is absolutely critical in building a service that will be truly future-proof.  It will enable operators to respond to new challenges quickly and without major investment and allow them to monetise new trends in content creation and distribution that will keep their service competitive going forward. 

We also have a lot of local knowledge across the region and can thus be very nimble and flexible.  Our consultation process is very comprehensive and can last months, including for example looking at what content is available that can be offered to customers in a specific market.

And while telco-grade IPTV remains core to our offering, we have recently expanded our solutions portfolio to include solutions for Internet TV, Mobile TV and other broadband platforms, which was driven by the rapidly changing media and entertainment landscapes just as much as by the desire to maximise our unique expertise in all facets of designing and implementing broadband solutions.  Our new portfolio of solutions will enable telco and non-telco service providers alike to capitalise on their broadband opportunities and roll out successful services.

We’ve also recently launched our own in-house developed middleware solution which includes all major backend modules such as billing, content management and subscriber management.  It’s again built on open standards and works with all IP-STBs, headend equipment and BSS/OSS platforms which is critical for enabling a future-proof IPTV platform.

How do you see the Asian IPTV market developing in the near to middle future?

Asia has been blossoming in terms of IPTV, Mobile TV and Internet TV.  While lately Europe has transformed itself into the global IPTV leader, IPTV has also made considerable headway in Asia and is predicted to outpace Europe in the not so distant future.  That’s not particularly surprising, if you look at the enormous market potential of populous nations like China and India, which are in the midst of a tiger leap onto the economic world stage.

But distributing entertainment content is still a very new business for telcos, and we tell them that “you should first understand what your market demands”, because every market is different and what works in country A may not necessarily work in country B.  This is particularly true for a heterogeneous region like Asia.  Some markets here have demonstrated robust potential for IPTV, but operators cannot stand still by only delivering cable-type services.  IPTV is now definitely a necessity, but telcos will also need to focus on delivering innovative services such as interactivity and extend their service to other platforms.  After all, only IPTV has the intrinsic flexibility and power to be the chief conduit of a person’s entertainment life, the place where TV, PC, Mobile TV and any other device that no doubt will emerge in the future will come together. 

Overall I think that its vast population and rapid economic growth coupled with people’s voracious appetite for content and readiness to pay for it means Asia has tremendous potential to lead the IPTV fray and shape IPTV’s further evolution on a global scale.

What IPTV projects is BNS involved with at the moment?

BNS is currently in an expansion phase.  We undertook a 4 month project writing an internal blueprint for Hanaro Telecom’s hanaTV service in Korea, which launched last year and seems to have reached ‘critical mass’, recently passing 500,000 subscribers.  We have also been working on building an IPTV platform for M2B World in Singapore, including IP set-top boxes (STBs), middleware, content protection and subscriber management system.  Earlier this year we completed an IPTV strategy and implementation consultation project for Globe in the Philippines.
Our most recent project is for Telekom Malaysia (TMNet), delivering a complete H.264 IPTV pilot system including STB’s, which will offer users video on demand, broadcast channels, games and multimedia news.  We have also recently received an expansion order relating to this project.

Visit: www.bnsltd.com