Though there has been no word from Google about bringing the Chromecast to Australia any time soon, a new report suggests that Telstra is hoping to expand its BigPond IPTV service with the use of the TV-streaming dongle.
Chromecast is a low-cost, web-connected dongle that connects to a TV via an HDMI port and streams content from services and apps like Google Play, YouTube, Pandora and Netflix.
According to The Australian, Telstra held talks with the search giant to allow BigPond content and services, like movies and sports, be available through the dongle, with the ultimate goal of making Telstra's IPTV service more readily available with the affordable device.
Dongles in a Bigpond
While Google released a software development kit (SDK) for the Chromecast platform last week, the report suggests that Telstra has been working on getting its BigPond services ready for the Chromecast since late last year.
Though there have been no confirmations from either company, the news has us speculating that Telstra could end up distributing the the Chromecast Down Under.
But as the report also says that Telstra has been looking at ways of getting Google's service on its T-Box set top box, the Aussie telco may be looking to develop its own digital media player that has Chromecast functionality.
How this will effect the relationship between Google and other telcos remains to be seen, and there are still questions on what apps and services will be made available to Australians - services like Netflix aren't easily available here and there may be problems caused by distribution and content copyright issues.
We're just hopeful this means that the Chromecast will make its way to Australia sooner rather than later.
- Check out our review of the Chromecast to see why we're hopeful
