Mobile operator EE to launch a TV set-top box - Telegraph

(Reuters) - Britain's mobile operator EE might introduce its own set-top box on Wednesday in an effort to keep pace with rivals BT Group Plc and TalkTalk Telecom Group Plc, the Telegraph reported. The hardware for the set-top box will be provided by Netgem SA, a Paris-based company already in partnership with French telecom provider Orange SA, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources. EE's box, which is expected to be launched at an event at the company's headquarters, will offer all the free-view channels, which are built-in and do not require any subscription, as are offered by YouView, the set-top box technology used by BT and TalkTalk, the newspaper said. Services including BBC iPlayer and Demand 5, which are unavailable on BT sport channels, are free with an EE broadband subscription, the Telegraph said. EE, which is jointly owned by Orange SA and Deutsche Telekom AG, added 1.3 million customers to its 4G network in the second quarter. EE declined to comment. (Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bangalore; editing by Matthew Lewis)