Joint-venture company T&L has entered into a 15-year agreement with Shanghai's radio, film and television bureau to provide controlled Internet access to households through the municipality's cable television network. Vincent Yan Yong, general manager of T&L, said the company would receive more than 50 per cent of the revenue from subscription fees, advertising and commissions in business transactions. The remainder will go to the bureau. Subscribers to the service, called TeleWeb, can surf the Internet for general interest subjects, education and real-time financial information with set-top boxes connected to their televisions. They will also be able to shop on the Internet and trade in shares. Shanghai Cable TV has three million subscribers, and T&L is banking on many of them signing for its service. The company has 4,000 subscribers and is eyeing 100,000 by the end of next year. Company officials said they aimed to make the service affordable with a subscription fee and set-top box rent of less than 100 yuan (about HK$93) a month. T&L is a 50-50 joint venture between red-chip TCL International Holdings and United States-based Internet technology and services company Lotus Pacific. It will screen and edit the Internet content sourced from its providers.
