5. 5
Kingston Communications
• Founded in 1902, history of innovation
• €467m annual revenue (02/03), 2 500 employees
• A wide-ranging telecommunication services
provider
– core services: voice, data, internet, mobile, satellite
– value added services: call centres, information services,
broadband networks, broadband TV
• National and regional networks
– 160 000 residential lines (East Yorkshire)
– 20 000 business customers (East Yorkshire & National)
• A network and platform not a content business
7. 7
Kingston’s Broadband Network
• UK’s first all digital telephone network
• Pioneered ADSL broadband in mid 1990s
• By 1999 all exchanges DSL-enabled
• In 2003 delivering broadband-based services to
around 10 000 homes
– Highest per capita broadband penetration in UK
• Full broadband TV service delivered via ADSL
using a single, ordinary copper telephone line
– No cable, no satellite dish, telephone unaffected
• Broadband TV delivers minimum 5Mb
bandwidth to the home
9. 9
Initial Objectives
• Utilise existing ADSL infrastructure
• Defence against cable competition
• Provide multiple, rich services cost effectively
• Provide flexible infrastructure for partners’ content
and applications
• Drive initial uptake via free STB & ADSL modem
• Price to appeal to mass-consumer audience
(packages from €9,65 per month)
• Drive revenues via backchannel applications
10. 10
Key Milestones
• September 1998
– Initial trials to 250 homes
• August 1999
– Public commercial trial (4 exchanges, 1 500 lines)
• September 2000
– Full commercial launch (infrastructure for 30 000 lines)
• March 2001
– 10 000 subscribers (~10% market penetration in 6
months)
• November 2001
– Full PPV and subscription VOD service launched
11. 11
Ground-breaking Service
• World’s first commercially deployed, full service
broadband TV offering over ADSL
• World’s largest commercially deployed VOD
system
– 35 nCUBE video servers capable of serving 7 000
simultaneous streams
– Capacity 7 500 hours (scaleable)
• World’s first broadcast-VOD-broadcast, interactive
TV advert
• UK’s first interactive drama
• BBC’s first TV-based VOD news service
13. 13
KIT Platform
• Based on open, widely-used standards:
– IP networking
– HTML and JavaScript
– JPEG, GIF, PNG (images)
– MPEG and RTSP (video)
• Ease and low cost of moving content onto
platform, leverages partners’ existing:
– Content
– Skills
– Infrastructure
• Content development and delivery considerably
more cost effective than other digital TV
platforms
14. 14
Service & Content Management
• On-demand video hosted locally on Kingston’s
video servers
– Delivered via tape, private circuit or VPN
• Other content and services (HTML/JavaScript)
hosted on Web/application servers:
– locally (on the Kingston network)
– remotely (by partner, anywhere on the Internet)
• Allows partners to remotely manage their own
rich, branded environments on the KIT platform
15. 15
Technology Partners
• Alcatel
– ADSL/ATM network hardware
– Middleware (was iMagicTV)
• Tandberg
– Head-end receivers and encoders
• nCUBE
– Video servers
• Pace
– Set-top box (DSL 4000)
• ANT
– Embedded Web browser (Fresco)
16. 16
KIT Service Offering
• Broadcast digital TV & Radio
• Video-on-Demand (VOD)
• Games
• TV-based email and Web access
• Interactive content and services
• T-commerce
• PC-based, broadband Internet access
• Thin client application services (in the future?)
17. 17
Broadcast Digital TV & Radio
• 70 channels
– Basic channel package €9,65 per month (30 channels)
– Premium channel options available (entertainment,
movies, sports, etc.) up to an additional €72,25 per
month
– “Virtual” channels
• Electronic Programme Guide (EPG)
– Rolling 7-day schedule
• Video is MPEG encoded and delivered at 4,3Mb/s
– Real-time encoding from DSAT/DTT feed
18. 18
Video-On-Demand
• Utilised extensively throughout the service:
– Movies (including trailers)
– eTV applications
– Interactive applications
– Adverts and promotions (local and national)
– Locally produced news and special interest pieces
• Video is MPEG encoded at 2Mb/s
– “Offline” encoding allows broadcast quality at lower bit
rates
• Full playback control (pause, FF, REW)
20. 20
Video-On-Demand
• 3 models:
– Pay-per-view content €2,10–€5,00 per item (24-hour
rental)
– Bundled subscription packages from €3,55–€14,20 per
month
– Free-to-view VOD libraries
• Platform supports multiple branded ‘Video Stores’
– Currently movies, general entertainment and “adult”
content
21. 21
Games
• JavaScript, BASIC and “native” games supported
• Small number of free (sponsored) games
• Pay-per-play and mini-subscription
– €0,70 per game for unlimited plays over 24 hours
– Mainly “classic” games from a few years ago
• “Video-based” games also being considered
– Games run on central, networked servers
– Delivered to the set-top box as an MPEG video stream
– Backchannel used for game control
– Allows any PC-based game to be played
23. 23
TV-based Email and Web
Access
• TV email + Web package €15,60 per month,
unmetered
– Free wired keyboard (wireless keyboard €42,50)
– Simple point and click interface
– 5 email addresses per household
– Also remote email access via PC + Web browser
• Non internet subscribers get limited (walled
garden) access
– Content and service partners’ sites only
• PC Internet access options also available
24. 24
Interactive Content and
Services
• Local information
– e.g. news, sport and weather, entertainment guides, Hull
Colour Pages, schools portal
• Learning/”edutainment”
– e.g. Walking with Beasts “on-demand”, BBC Bitesize
• Interactive broadcast programmes (eTV)
– e.g. The Trench, World Cup, Wimbledon,
Commonwealth Games, Fame Academy
• No incremental cost to the subscriber
25. 25
T-Commerce
• Shopping
– e.g. Dominos Pizza, Gadget Shop, Hull FC Shop
• Financial Services
– e.g. Nationwide online banking, Prudential insurance
• Betting
– e.g. Blue Square, Ladbrokes
• Typically, earnings are generated on a revenue
share basis
26. 26
PC-based Broadband Internet
Access
• Utilises existing ADSL connection in the home
(TV-based service)
• €298 set-up + €28,35 per month (unmetered)
• Currently 384kbps, always on connection
• TV-based services (e.g. broadcast/VOD), voice
telephony and PC Internet access can all be used
simultaneously over a single line!
• Kingston also offer dedicated broadband to PC
options for higher bandwidths from €41 per month
27. 27
Thin Client Application
Services
• Initial small-scale trial (300 homes)
– Part of a local school’s in-home learning trial
• Utilises Citrix thin client technology
• Allows almost any Windows or Unix desktop
application to be used on a TV via the set-top box
– e.g. Microsoft Office, Sun Star Office, Internet Explorer,
etc.
• Ideal for bridging the “digital divide” in low income
areas
• Commercial services possible in the future
– ASP-type model
31. 31
10%
17%
24%
60%
9%
14%
35%
44%
Additional services via TV
TV/Internet email
For specific channels
Greater variety of channels (general
comment)
Male
Female
Main benefit from subscribing to KIT
• Females were less specific compared to males in mentioning the benefits regarding
programming.
• Specific channels would include mention of sport, kids, wildlife, documentaries and
similar.
All respondents (n=201, Q3b)
Greater choice of TV viewing was the main
benefit customers hoped to gain by subscribing
to KIT
32. 32
69%
31%
Take more than one KIT
subscription service
Take only one of KIT subscription
services
Most subscribe to multiple KIT services
49%
51%
Added to start-up
subscription
Not added to start-up
subscription
Of those who added to initial subscription 75% added a Sky package;
74% pay-per-view VOD; 41% TV internet and email and 41% upgraded
the Access package.
All respondents (n= 201, Q4b)
of which
Overall, a third of subscribers
have added to their start-up
subscription
33. 33
37%
33%
27%
20%
25%
19%
21%
37%
31%
33%
36%
29%
23%
21%
In touch with friends/family
with TV email
Buy products at push of button
Surf web without complexity of
a computer
Pause, FF, etc. without a video
recorder
Surf web from arm chair
Order movie without store visit
In touch with local news and
events
Totally agree Agree
Affinity with different
aspects of the TV service
All respondents (n=201, Q8)
Local content is an important aspect of the
service, even though not on the list of most
watched genres
34. 34
67%
62%
23%
15%
33%
Do not use the interactive
features
Infrequently
Some/half the time
Frequently
Use of the TV’s interactive features
Greater use of this feature is in younger households, with children and
use appears to be higher amongst females.
All respondents (n= 201, Q6)
Use the interactive
features
Two-thirds of viewers have
used the interactive features
35. 35
What have we learnt?
• Keep it “televisual”
– Avoid Web conventions if not appropriate for TV
• TV consumer wants to be entertained/infotained
– PC user wants to be informed and interact more deeply
• Viewers prefer video to text and static pictures
– A picture may be worth a thousand words but a video is
worth a thousand pictures
• Local and community-orientated content
especially popular
36. 36
What have we learnt?
• The TV is an appliance
– Service has to be easy to use and reliable
• Some of the underlying technology still at the
“bleeding edge”
• “Push” versus “Search”
– What gets promoted gets viewed/used
• Keyboards not popular
– Navigation needs to possible with remote control only
– Challenge for t-commerce
37. 37
What have we learnt?
• Significant investment required for infrastructure
• Scale is key (i.e. subscriber numbers)
– Spread fixed costs
– Essential to attract content partners, sponsorship and
advertising
• ARPU is key
• Multi-channel, digital TV is a ‘Trojan Horse’
– No single ‘killer application’ exists for broadband TV
– It is the sum of the parts
38. 38
“The future of television
is happening in Hull”
Greg Dyke, BBC Director General
