Belarus’s Velcom launches OTT TV service

Belarusian mobile telco Velcom is launching an OTT TV service targeted at smart TV users this summer.

The operator will also provide a set-top box for non-smart TV owners with an HDMI port on their displays, and the service will be available on the web as well as on iOS, Android and Windows Phone devices.

Velcom’s service, Voka TV, will include Ukraine-based Megogo’s offering, as well as a kids package.

Subscribers in rural areas without fixed broadband will be able to access the service via 4G broadband. Velcom said its 3G network would cover 97% of the country by the end of this year.

The operator has tapped technology provider SPB TV to deliver the service.

Cloud and managed services director Dmitry Kirilenko said that the launch would provide Belarusians with greater freedom of choice for viewing TV channels as well as a legal means of accessing video content.