TeliaSonera and Samsung are to launch a connected TV solution that will eliminate the need for an external set-top box in Estonia before the end of the year.
Full support for catch-up and on demand features will be included in the set that will debut in Sweden in Q1 2013 with Finland following later that year.
TeliaSonera subsidiary Elion will run the service in Estonia that follows a collaboration between the two parties signed in May this year.
It will run on Samsung Series 7 and 8 TVs and will be demoed at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin that opens tomorrow (August 31).
“This development is going to be a significant change to the use of TV. Samsung is continuously working on partnering with operators like TeliaSonera and making consumers enjoy their favourite contents in more easy and convenient ways. This will lead to a much higher level in broadening accessibility through Smart TV”, said Kyungshik Lee, VP, visual display division, Samsung Electronics.
“TeliaSonera is proud to be first mover and pioneer in this fast-growing area of IPTV services. Our TV business is growing in all Nordic and Baltic countries and in 2012 we will make our TV service available on multiple screens,” added Malin Frenning, President Broadband Services, TeliaSonera.
Once the Smart TV is connected to the Internet it recognizes the IPTV provider that the customer is using. The IPTV interface will then automatically appear and the settings will be configured without intervention by the customer.