OPEN

A few posts back, considering Sky’s move into broadband and BT’s move into TV  and Sky’s move into internet service provision, I asked "Where is Microsoft in all of this?"

Well two stories doing the rounds today may add up to an answer: in the chess game of ISPs and broadcasters being played at the moment they are just two moves away from check.

• AOL preps LLU broadband launch – The Register
• Microsoft May Buy AOL Stake – CBS

Here’s how it works: AOL invests in LLU (local loop unbundling, i.e. putting their own equipment in telephone exchanges), and is therefore capable of a credible IPTV service. Then Microsoft buys AOL (or a significant chunk) and together they launch an assault on the living rooms of the nation.

Got it? Come on, keep up!

So there we have the battle for the delivery of our TV content in the next ten years: Sky vs. BT vs. Microsoft.