Britain’s biggest phone company will use Microsoft Corp.’s technology to launch interactive TV services, joining a crowd of telephone companies around the globe who’ve allied with the software maker in a bid to compete with cable TV.
The announcement Tuesday by BT Group PLC is a boost for Microsoft’s so-called IPTV platform after some prominent setbacks and unconfirmed reports of possible glitches and delays. (MSNBC is a Microsoft - NBC joint venture.)
The Microsoft product will be used by BT to deliver video-on-demand and interactive features such as online chat, voting, gambling and video games. But unlike other phone companies such as SBC Communications Inc., BT is not planning to use the IPTV platform to deliver the regular lineup of cable TV channels.
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