Ericsson's next generation television system the "Future TV Anywhere" could take five years before it reaches emerging markets such as Africa.

This is according to Ben Huang, head of marketing for the media room division at Ericsson, who explained to ITWeb Africa that the company's TV technology could take a few years before it is available to consumers in emerging markets.

This is despite the fact that Ericsson's TV and media platform has already launched in over 30 countries mainly in North America and Europe, and setup partnerships with 70 pay TV and cable TV network operators.

Ericsson's "Future TV Anywhere" simply involves TV services being available on any device.

Huang elaborated that a shift is occurring from viewing content on televisions to that of mobile devices, tablets and personal computers (PCs).

"Ericsson is very strong in mobile networks and infrastructure and what we are seeing in developing markets is very different in what we are seeing in the more developed media markets," he told ITWeb Africa.

Huang added, "In developing markets the first connection a person has to broadband service will be via mobile devices - so when we think about the re-architecture of this ‘Future TV Anywhere’ platform - we realise that the first time anybody will access a video experience might be on a mobile device connected to the mobile infrastructure created by Ericsson. "

Huang also explained that Ericsson's ‘Radio Dot System’ (an indoor mobile broadband device being tested by MTN in South Africa) could make it possible to bring video to markets that don't have sufficient online video adoption today.

Ericsson’s intention to roll out its TV services in emerging markets five years from now could be dealt a blow though as local players look to fill the gap.

South African fixed line operator Telkom announced on Monday that it has extended an invitation to the industry to bid for the provisioning of a Video on Demand (VoD) tender to deliver TV content to connected homes in the country.

Speaking about the invitation, managing director of consumer services and retail marketing for Telkom, Manelisa Mavuso, said in a statement, “We have been progressing well with our efforts to deliver the ultimate connected home experience to South Africans. "

“It therefore gives me great pleasure to invite relevant stakeholders to submit their proposals through Telkom’s tender process as we seek to find the best service provider to partner with,” he added.