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The National Assembly passed a bill on Internet Protocol Television on Friday, paving the way for the launch of the new media service in Korea next year.
IPTV is a next-generation broadcasting technology that uses Internet protocol instead of radio waves to deliver programs. The service is interactive, so viewers can use it to search for information for items they see on TV and even buy them without interrupting the program they are watching.
So far, KT, Hanaro Telecom and LG Dacom have provided video-on-demand services through their Mega TV, Hana TV, and My LG TV services, respectively, without relevant laws.
Right now these services offer TV programs several hours or days after terrestrial broadcasters have first relayed them. The passage of the bill means programs from terrestrial broadcasters can be made available on the Internet at the same time they are broadcast.
But there are concerns that the service may be crippled by government bureaucracy because both the Ministry of Information and Communication and the Korean Broadcasting Commission are in charge of it.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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