Sky Mulling ISP Purchase To Offer Triple Play

BSkyB is reportedly planning a £1 billion purchase of a broadband service provider, with the company planing to launch triple play services comprising phone, TV and internet.

The plans, reported this morning by the Guardian, would enable Sky to compete more effectively with a combined triple play cable service by ntl and Telewest, following their recently announced merger (see Cable Giants Tie Up To Tackle Sky).

However, Sky’s plans could also lead to the broadcaster offering a truly on-demand television experience. The Guardian claims further investment of around £100-100 million is planned at a later stage to provide ultra-fast internet connections through local loop unbundling.

Such a development would enable Sky to operate an IPTV service – something that was rumoured to be on the broadcaster’s drawing board earlier this year (see New Sky Box To Pack Broadband For On-Demand TV).

IPTV, in addition to Sky’s conventional satellite technology, would enable the TV giant to compete with similar upcoming services from both cable competitors and new entrants to the market, such as British Telecom (see BT Plans To Revolutionise TV With Personal Channels).

Sky’s funding for such a venture would be raised by the issue of a new bond, announced earlier this week, today’s newspaper reports claim.

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