IPTV vendors recognize small telco challenge

Just about every vendor of telecom hardware or software has the common dream--sometimes realistic, sometimes not--of landing deployment deals with Tier 1 carriers like AT&T and Verizon Communications. Even some of the vendors who claim not to have this dream would completely change their models overnight if AT&T came calling. The market for IPTV gear has been no different, as developers of IPTV middleware and other technology have lined up to compete for business at the biggest telcos.

However, while a Tier 1 deployment can help make or break an IPTV technology vendor, so can the lack of anything else but a Tier 1 deployment. With the IPTV roll-outs by Tier 1 telcos now well in hand, many vendors are turning their attention toward smaller independent telcos. These companies represent a vast market of very small opportunities, and one-size-fits-all vendor approaches need not apply. That means adapting existing IPTV gear and software to the unique cost and scalability needs of the small guys. Vendors like Innovate Systems, Quative and Thomson are just of few of the vendors currently making the effort.

For more:
- see this report at Telephony

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