SSTL’s MTS brand launched MTS TV for the subscribers of its wireless broadband subscribers offered under MBlaze. The services are offered in tie-up with mobile video streaming service provider, Apalya Technologies and is available in 57 cities across India.

There are over 60 Live and VoD channels spanning news, entertainment, sports, kids, movies and regional language categories. Other on demand channels and Live Cricket Updates will also be launched in future.

The MTS TV service will be on offer for free. Subscribers will be charged only for the data access charges as per the plan opted. The MTS TV application is available for free download.

Speaking on the launch Mr. Leonid Musatov, Chief Marketing Officer, SSTL, said, “Increasingly, new forms of content are making their way onto mobile devices - music, in particular, is already booming - and the latest buzz is about television. MTS TV is yet another feather in our cap to offer the best of service to our valued customers. As an emerging industry, mobile TV will require a willingness of operators, regulators, broadcasters and device suppliers to strike new deals. Consumer reaction and usage patterns will help the broadcast and mobile industries understand what content viewers want to see on this exciting new technology.”

Mr. Sergey Korobov, Director, VAS of SSTL, said, “MTS TV will offer users uninterrupted connection to their favorite channels on the move and will also keep them updated on happening in and around the world through news channels.”

Mr. Vamshi Reddy, Founder and Director, Apalya, said, “We are proud to be associated with MTS and commit best our services to MTS and their subscribers in times to come.” He further added, “We are confident our association has a long way to go and will ultimately address varied needs of MBlaze subscribers and stay up ahead with assorted offerings to suit many.”

The service however prohibits copy, recording and repurposing of the video content being streamed. The service runs on Windows OS and MAC OS.

Apalya is already offering similar service to subscribers of Tata Teleservices’ Photon Plus services. It also recently entered into tie-up with Samsung for coming out with handsets which support mobile TV streaming services on CDMA platform.