ITV has begun testing on-demand local television with the launch of ITV Local, a broadband service based on the TelVOS television operating system developed by Narrowstep.

The service is aimed at PC users, and does not require a set-top box or additional software.

On connection to the ITV Local website the TelVOS system sends a cookie to the user PC to find out the connection speed in use. It then delivers streamed TV at appropriate speeds using a technique Narrowstep calls 'Largestreaming'.

The free, advertising-supported service has seven channels, including local news, weather, music, what's-on guides, short films, classified ads, and general entertainment. It is currently available as a trial with community channels in Hastings and Brighton.

Ian Fogg, broadband and voice over IP analyst at Jupiter Research, said "This is ITV joining the broadband TV bandwagon. But further down the road independent TV companies are going to have to decide whether they go for pay-TV, subscriber or content protection to ensure its popularity with advertisers.

"The really interesting technology is IP-TV which uses a set-top box delivering programmes to your TV. It is currently in use by Homechoice and Kingston Communications and being developed by BT for launch next summer."

Viewers of ITV Local can check TV schedules, catch up on missed shows, and search for specific programmes.

ITV Local will also allow viewers to upload their own material, including short videos and classified ads promoting goods for sale and personal notices, by using a special encoder supplied by Narrowstep.

"The rapid advance in the number of broadband homes in the UK, combined with improvements in streaming technology, has transformed the opportunities for local broadcasting," said Lindsay Charlton, project director at ITV.

ITV believes that it will be able to capture a whole new area of revenue from local advertising. Jeff Henry, director of ITV Consumer, said: "If this is successful we believe there is a great opportunity for us to move into new markets such as local classified advertising."

Jupiter Research believes that broadcasters are increasingly interested in developing broadband services now that over 20 per cent of UK households have broadband connections.

The analyst estimates that 28 per cent of European households will have broadband connections by year end, with even higher penetration in countries including the UK, France, Germany and Scandinavia.

Narrowstep's TelVOS system is used by Telewest for its Blueyonder TV service with five channels on broadband.