US telco FairPoint to start IPTV trials in Portsmouth

December 3, 2008 - US telco FairPoint Communications is to start trialling a new IPTV service next January in the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, according to reports in local news portal Seacoastonline.

The 90-day pilot programme will be open to all Portsmouth residents in the telco's fibre-optic service area, and will see FairPoint delivering free high-definition flatscreen TVs to 100 homes in the city as it tests the technology.

Jill Wurm, Corporate Communications Manager at FairPoint, commented that the results of the trials could have statewide ramifications, as many other communities have expressed interest in IPTV services from FairPoint. "We certainly think television is a product our customers are looking for, and the folks in Portsmouth had approached us," said Ms. Wurm. "We knew we had fibre here, and it seemed like a good match."

The executive added that the focus of the pilot project is the quality of the technology and not necessarily the content, so only 45 channels will be offered during the tests. A DVR will also be provided to participants of the trials, and new fibre connections and network equipment will be installed in their homes. Participants will be chosen at random in order to generate geographical diversity for the tests, and the number of homes to receive the test services is not yet known.

The city of Portsmouth recently signed a ten-year agreement with cable operator Comcast, according to the reports, but local Cable Commission chairman John Gregg commented that the city reached out to FairPoint during negotiations to express an interest in the provider entering the television market, and discovered that the telco was in the middle of developing plans to create a fibre-based video service. "Frankly, we got lucky," said Mr. Gregg. "This is the first step. Obviously we're hopeful it turns out to be successful. I don't know if prices are going to come down, but it might prevent them from going up as fast."