After seeing some IPTV success in China and Japan, UTStarcom Inc. (Nasdaq: UTSI - message board) is heading to India, where Bharti Airtel Ltd. (Mumbai: BHARTIARTL - message board) is ready to launch its telco TV service using the vendor's video delivery systems.

    On a conference call with analysts last week, UTStarcom chief financial officer Fran Barton noted the start of the deployment in India, without referring to Bharti by name: Even though the engagement was announced more than 18 months ago, Barton talked only about an IPTV deployment with "one of the largest private operators" in India. (See Bharti Watches UTStarcom for IPTV.)

    It's an important step, because executives cite UTStarcom's end-to-end IPTV offering, RollingStream, as one of the linchpins of the firm's financial recovery. And while UTStarcom has had some success in China, the projects available in India represent a faster deployment ramp-up.

    In China, UTStarcom started with trials of a few thousand homes at a time, building to what's now a 310,000-subscriber audience. "In India, it's different. They start you off bigger," to the tune of a 120,000-subscriber launch for Bharti, says Brian Caskey, UTStarcom vice president of marketing.

    Bharti marks UTStarcom's second IPTV project in India. The first is a three-year deal announced in May with Aksh Optifibre Ltd. , which itself has a seven-year agreement to run an IPTV service for Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTNL) . (See MTNL's IPTV Sparks Regulatory Debate.)

    UTStarcom is fighting to regain profitability after going through a tough period that's included the requisite stock options investigation. (See UTStarcom Readies Plan B.)

    Part of the company's recovery plan will involve picking which technologies to emphasize, Barton said on the call, and IPTV would seem to be near the top of the list, as it "has been the most exciting area of our broadband solutions portfolio," he said. (See UTStarcom Readies Plan B.)