(11 January 2006 1:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Europe's UBS Securities estimates that Chinese IPTV users will reach 500,000 by 2007. The company expects the broadband subscriber base of China Telecom and China Netcom will rise to 63 million with an annual growth rate of 28 per cent from 2005 to 2008.

UBS also predicts that the medium- and high-end users with an annual income of $12,000 will exceed 20 million.

China's IPTV market is dominated by ZTE, a leading telecom equipment maker and wireless solution provider. The company offers IPTV equipment for broadband network based on several different standards. According to UBS, going by the forecast, ZTE stands at a chance to become the country's largest telecom equipment player.