Pipex Founder Launches New IPTV Service

The founder of early ISP Pipex, Peter Dawe, is to launch Babel TV – a device combining a Freeview set-top box, PVR and broadband connection.

The device is a regular Freeview box, with a personal video recorder (PVR) and the ability to surf the internet via a wired Ethernet connection. All that is required is a Freeview compatible aerial and a broadband connection. Users will also need their router or modem.

Dawe said: “You can watch TV programmes from the internet, surf the web and shop online. You can keep in touch with family and friends by email, write letters and use other office software. You can share and store photos, play and manage iPod or other MP3 player music, and you can make free or incredibly cheap internet phone calls.”

The Babel set-top box will cost £295 when it is launched on November 6.

The system comes pre-loaded with software, including Open Office, Firefox and a VoIP application. It features a 160GB hard disk for recording TV shows and storing media.

The BableTV IPTV service will compete against the likes of BT Vision (see BT Vision Subscribers Up 24,000 in Two Months) and Tiscali TV (see National Roll-Out For Tiscali TV).

Earlier this year, Italian ISP Tiscali bought Pipex, which was one of the last remaining major independent broadband suppliers in the UK, for £210 million, bringing Tiscali’s UK broadband customer base to 1.4 million.

BT: 0207 469 2337 www.btplc.com Tiscali: www.tiscali.co.uk