Flow launches TV service

By Davion Smith, BVI News Online Journalist

Adding to the phone and internet services it already offers in the British Virgin Islands, telecoms provider Flow yesterday launched its television service, which is being dubbed Flow TV.

The service gives television consumers access to more than 160 channels with the aid of the internet.

Speaking at the launch of the service at Flow’s flagship store in Road Town yesterday, Country Manager Colin McDonald said Flow TV has the ability to playback, pause, and rewind whenever the user wishes to do so.

McDonald also stated that Flow TV has recording capabilities – among other things.

“Everything you record is stored on a Cloud. Because it’s stored on a Cloud, it means that, say for example there is a problem with the flat box after a power outage or a lightening storm, all of your content is still there and available. You can watch it with your mobile phones; you can watch it with your laptop; your iPad,” he further said.

Limited area coverage

McDonald however noted that Flow TV is only now available to customers who have the company’s ‘Superfast’ internet service.

“We’re trying to upgrade the network around the island; so it’s not all completed yet. Unfortunately, when we do have customers that are in the areas that don’t have those Superfast speeds, we can’t deliver the television to you either. There are goals to get complete Superfast coverage – the quicker we can do that, the better. It is a challenge. There is a lot of work involved,” McDonald further said.

The company’s Superfast internet is currently available only in certain areas including Road Town, Baugher’s Bay, Nanny Cay, Havers, Chalwell, Nail Bay, and Virgin Gorda.

McDonald, in the meanwhile, said: “If you are in the Superfast areas, what we do is we actually bundle television with the Superfast plans to make sure we give you the best value for money if you take both of them… If anyone in your house is watching Netflix on their iPads, or playing games, or streaming YouTube or something, the television is completely safe. It does not interfere with it.”

‘Proof in the pudding’

McDonald added that the product has been tested and proven. “I’ve used the product for 18 months in the Cayman Islands, and it is fantastic. It is as good as any television product I’ve ever used anywhere in the world, whether I’ve been in the UK or the United States. So the proof is in the pudding.”

The new television service is run on a platform known as IPTV, which Flow describes as a ‘new digital service that delivers superior quality viewing experience of world-class, global, regional, and local content’. Flow TV has three base packages ranging between $25 and $60 per month.