IP video blocked in South Korea.Internet service providers Internet service provider (ISP) Company that provides Internet connections and services to individuals and organizations. For a monthly fee, ISPs provide computer users with a connection to their site (see data transmission), as well as a log-in name and password. (ISPs) and cable TV operators in South Korea are hindering subscribers from watching HanaTV, an Internet video-on-demand service, which launched in July, and is operated by phone company Hanaro Telecom Hanaro Telecom, Inc. is a Seoul-based Korean telecommunications company, one of the largest providers of high-speed broadband internet access in South Korea. The company also is one of the largest telephone companies in South Korea, one of only two companies licensed to provide . So far, major cable operators in the Seoul and Kyonggi provinces--such as Curix, C&M and HC--are either blocking access to HanaTV or limiting users' download speed. LG Powercomm, an Internet service company, has prohibited its users from viewing HanaTV altogether, as the two companies failed to reach an agreement over commissions. Hanaro estimates that the number of users unable to access HanaTV as a result of these blocks is three million--one million from the LG Powercomm block, and two million from the cable line operators'. The HanaTV service has been opposed from the beginning. ISPs claim that the service causes too much traffic on their Internet lines; and since many of them also operate cable TV networks, the companies are afraid the success of HanaTV will cut into their cable business profits. In its first three months, more than 60,000 customers signed up for the HanaTV service, which allows users to download movies, dramas, sitcoms  The perspective and/or examples in this article do not represent a world-wide view. Please [ edit] this page to improve its geographical balance. and other kinds of content onto a set-top box The cable TV box that sits on "top" of the TV "set," although it is often located several feet away in an equipment rack. The set-top box descrambles the premium channels and provides a tuner for the higher cable numbers that very old TVs did not support. through the
Internet, and watch them on regular TV.
Because Internet TV (1) Watching TV programs on or from the Internet. There are countless video clips available on Web sites for streaming as well as subscription services that offer TV programs and movies for downloading. falls into a gray area between telecommunications and broadcasting, the South Korean government has shied shied 1 v. Past tense and past participle of shy1. shied Verb the past of shy1 or shy2 away from defining the legal boundaries of the service. As of now, the government has not made any official comment regarding the clash between Hanaro and cable operators. Debate is expected to intensify in the future as multiple consortia prepare to launch similar, but more advanced, Internet-based TV services later this year. |
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