Dubai Investment Group (DIG), the global financial investor of Dubai Group, has acquired through its subsidiary Dubai Ventures, a 40 per cent stake in Time Broadband Services Ltd (TBSL), India’s newest internet protocol television (IPTV) service provider.
Having extensive technical and managerial experience in the telecom sector through its investments in Maltacom and Tunisie Telecom, DIG is well positioned to use its expertise and support TBSL in its objective to become a prominent IPTV player.
The timely investment by Dubai Investment Group comes just before TBSL’s planned launch of its services in India and brings the Dubai firm’s resources to bear, including its professional management and global relationship base. In line with its focus on emerging markets, DIG is expected to influence IPTV-related business opportunities in India and beyond.
Abdulhakeem Kamkar, CEO of DIG, said: “We found an ideal partnership in TBSL which has a team of competent professionals having an in-depth knowledge of their specialised technology.
“India is one of our key markets. We are impressed by the initiatives of the state-owned telecom firms, where they are heavily investing in the latest technology to upgrade their telecom networks to gear up for broadband play. We believe that through TBSL, we will be able to add value to the growing telecom sector in India,” he said.
“IPTV is the future for broadband content across multiple platforms and has the potential to globally change the way people watch cable television. Our intention is not only to make this a success in India, but to help the company take this value proposition globally. In addition, we see synergies in future projects with TBSL,” said Mr Kamkar.
TBSL is geared to meet the requirements of the Indian IPTV industry following its two-years of market research. In its native market, TBSL plans to introduce a bouquet of services including satellite channels, new film releases, interactive TV and on-demand services for a true broadband interactive experience at extremely competitive rates.