The number of subscribers to Internet-Protocol based television (IPTV) is expected to soar by 2010, according to one market research firm..

iSupply Corp. said on Thursday that the number of IPTV users is expected to increase 92.1 percent per year, brining the total number of subscribers to 63 million in 2010, or 26 times greater than its 2005 value of 2.4 million.

The fight to capture the expanding base of IPTV subscribers will put telecom operators on a collision course with existing pay-TV market competitors and with a new class of broadband video portals as they roll-out progressively more sophisticated offerings, Mark Kirstein, vice president, multimedia content and services for iSuppli, said in a statement.

The IPTV subscriber base is expected to generate more than $27 billion in overall services revenue in 2010. Video services are expected to make up the bulk of the revenues, with value-added media services and IPTV operator advertising accounting for more than 14 percent.

In addition, content licensing revenues across all IPTV services are expected to reach $11 billion at the end of the forecast.

Companies are already setting up the infrastructure needed in order to facilitate this change. Communications companies AT&T Inc. and Verizon are currently developing high-speed networks in the United States promising integration of voice and data, with test sites already in operation.

Asia is expected achieve the largest subscriber base in the world this year, and hold on to the lead through 2010. The Americas region, however, is expected to yield the highest average revenue per user starting this year, which means the region would lead the world in terms of IPTV dollars, the firm said.

Electronics