The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition Canadian cable operators have been quietly trying for years to launch Internet protocol television (IPTV). The Globe's Christine Dobby writes dominant player Shaw Communications made a big leap with the launch of home telephone services in 2005. It uses voice-over-Internet protocol technology. Phone companies such as BCE and Telus soon countered with their own attack on the cablecos' legacy business, building the infrastructure needed to launch IPTV, which allowed them to deliver television services over their Internet networks. BCE and Telus already operated satellite services, but this got them in the TV game in a bigger way and also offered certain customer-friendly advantages over cable that the telcos have been exploiting more of late. Those included enhanced interoperability between smart phones, tablets, desktop computers and televisions, more advanced PVR functions and Internet connectivity. "The systems integration and vendor support required is enormous," Canaccord Genuity analyst Dvai Ghose told The Globe. Nonetheless, some are sticking with it. A spokesman for Shaw said the company is "looking at IPTV among other innovations."