CenturyTel announced at a press conference last week that they will be launching IPTV service in the Columbia, MO market sometime in September. The details are a little sketchy, but we did confirm with a company spokesman that the launch is on track, and will initially focus on the Columbia market. The spokesman was unable to confirm future roll out plans. This launch makes CenturyTel the largest independent telco to launch IPTV.
There has been much speculation about larger IOCs and their IPTV plans. Both CenturyTel and Embarq have been relatively tight lipped about their IPTV plans. They both utilize DBS partnerships for current triple play offerings. CenturyTel cited their need to more effectively compete with triple play offerings from cable companies. They also launched a BroadbandTV product, utilizing the MobiTV platform, this past summer.