ABOUT 1,000 homes in Singapore are about to be the first here to get a taste of a new type of TV technology - razor sharp pictures delivered over the Internet.

Telco SingTel confirmed yesterday it is launching a six-month trial of this technology which could shake up the TV industry here. It later hopes to launch a full commercial service.

The telco said the Internet TV service will feature programmes from foreign media houses and local shows from MediaCorp Studios.

The trial run will hit TV screens at selected homes later this month, SingTel announced yesterday.

The TV shows are not only delivered over high-speed Internet, they are also delivered in cutting-edge high-definition TV - five times sharper than regular TV pictures.

Singapore's No. 1 telco said in a statement that it has been awarded a trial licence for a service called Internet protocol television (IPTV) by media content regulator Media Development Authority (MDA).

SingTel's entry into the local pay TV market will ''inject vibrancy into the Singapore media scene and offer consumers more choices', said MDA in a statement yesterday.

The licence allows SingTel to conduct technical trials to deliver shows with the high-definition format as a way to iron out any glitches.

Participants in SingTel's trial service will be able to watch shows on their TV sets using a set-top box linked to a modem.

SingTel is the first in the market to offer a suite of Internet TV services to the mass market.

Another pay TV provider, OBSTV Asia, which had been awarded a trial licence earlier this year, is currently running a trial service in Singapore for South Korean and Japanese shows targeted at expatriates.

Even as its technical trial is getting under way, SingTel has already applied to MDA for a full commercial pay TV licence to offer IPTV services.

One local industry analyst said this indicates SingTel's 'sense of urgency and determination to get into the pay TV market quickly so it can establish some brand presence'.

SingTel has also been moving quickly to secure rights to TV content likely to win over viewers - a key factor for successful pay TV services.

The telco has been scouring the globe from Hong Kong to the United States, to strike deals with production houses for content likely to entice viewers here to take up its planned IPTV service.

SingTel confirmed recent reports that it has submitted a bid for the broadcast rights to the English Premier League (EPL) matches, from August next year to May 2010. (yesss!!! hahaha)

This will pit it directly against cable TV operator StarHub, which has enjoyed an 11-year monopoly in the market and currently has exclusive rights to key content such as HBO and EPL.

SingTel's long-awaited entry into the pay TV market did not seem to faze StarHub.

Ms Jeannie Ong, StarHub's head of corporate communications and investor relations, said the company welcomed the competition as it 'brings fresh content and a variety of new channels to the market''.