IMS

What's next for IPTV? You tell us

Tue, 13 May 2008 06:59:55 -0400

I've been manning the helm at FierceIPTV for almost a month now, and the vast majority of reports I've been seeing and discussions I've been party to have had to do with subscriber numbers. This especially has been this case in the last couple of weeks, as telcos from around the world have been reporting first quarter earnings. Because IPTV is still in its young, growth-spurt phase, telcos have been happy to share IPTV subscriber growth figures, and highlight these numbers in their quarterly reports. Certainly, we'll see more of the same when second quarter earnings reports are filed this summer.

But, while subscriber growth is exciting and likely will continue to fuel a good portion of our content, it is time to take a broader, deeper look at IPTV trends and technologies. Here's a few things I'm keeping my eye on right now:

Back office and IMS integration of IPTV silos: As telcos have been focused on initial IPTV service launches and marketing campaigns, how well have the new services been integrated into existing OSS structures? If those same telcos are pursuing IP Multimedia Subsystem projects, have IPTV offering been considered as part of the IMS plan? I'm betting the answer is "no" in both cases.
IPTV pricing: Prices for Verizon Communications' FiOS TV service increased during 2007. Cable TV prices continue to increase, so maybe IPTV players can just continue to roll along; but could price hikes hurt IPTV adoption going forward, especially if telcos also are looking to charge customers extra for things like HD DVR services?
IPTV integration with online video: These two sectors still seem like strange bedfellows to me, but new companies like Sezmi are looking to help telcos make sense of the online video boom by integrating online video capabilities with their IPTV services.

What do you think about each of these areas and where they are headed? As we look to dig deeper into the IPTV sector, what are some trends and technologies you think we should be watching closely? Please post a comment and let us know.

- Dan

ALSO NOTED: IPTV doesn't care about IMS; VOD ad insertion key; and much more...

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 06:58:20 -0500

> IPTV world doesn't worry much about IMS? Article

> Will the writers' strike lure viewers away from regular TV programming in favor of Internet TV? Article

> VOD ad insertion to be a key driver over the next five years, according to SNL Kagan. Article

Ericsson scoops up Redback for $2.1B

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 19:01:10 -0500

Ericsson has made an aggressive move in acquiring Redback Networks for $2.1 billion. The deal serves to edify the increasingly important role IPTV plays in the telco industry. Ericsson characterized the price tag as a 60 percent premium above the 90-day average for Redback stock. The acquisition will also put Ericsson within shooting range of Cisco and Juniper.

The deal follows Ericsson's acquisition of some of Marconi's assets last year, which set off a wave of mergers and acquisitions in the networking sector. The Marconi deal opened up deals for Ericsson throughout Europe, and the Redback deal will pave the way for IPTV deals in the U.S. Ericsson has had a slow but sure entrance into IPTV during the past year, as it looks to an IMS architecture as the key to the service. Well, this acquisition could put the company on the fast track by as early as mid next year.

For more on Ericsson's acquisition of Redback:
- see this WSJ article (sub. req.)

Nortel shows off wIPTV-MAX?

Wed, 11 Oct 2006 20:00:50 -0400

At the WiMAX World conference in Boston this week, Nortel demonstrated an IPTV feed running over WiMAX, or wIPTV. The demonstration reportedly downloaded broadcast TV via a 4 Megabit stream with an integrated electronic program guide. Because of the vendor's IMS infrastructure, users can view photos and instant message while the broadcast TV is streaming.

If you consider that Sprint recently announced its intention to build out a multi-billion dollar WiMAX network and that the carrier also has a partnership with four major cable companies (including Time Warner, Comcast and Cox) this development begins to get very exciting. However, our sister publication FierceEnterprise reported today that a number of demonstrations at WiMax World were plagued by technical problems. No word yet on whether Nortel's demonstration was affected.

For more on Nortel's wIPTV-MAX demonstration:
- see this press release

Nortel's 4G plans could mean wIPTV

Wed, 13 Sep 2006 20:01:00 -0400

Last week Nortel sold its 3G access technologies business to its rival Alcatel and then promptly announced that 3G was dead on arrival. Fourth-generation (4G) mobile data services delivered over cellular networks that could potentially offer 40Mbit/s of bandwidth to end-users are the future, of course. Just like they said six years ago about 3G. Nonetheless the vendor's 4G plans mean big things for IPTV: wireless. While many of the mobile carriers here at CTIA I.T. are not too happy about all the 4G talk referencing WiMAX (it's not a cellular technology, so how can it be a cellular generation), a 4G future based on whatever technology is sure to come--most say by the magic year of 2010--for the U.K. at least. Darryl Edwards, European president of Nortel, said that OFDM-based, not WiMAX-based 4G, will be the cornerstone of mobile multimedia services like IPTV moving forward--music to the carriers' ears, no doubt.

For more on the 4G future and 3G being dead:
- see this article from Computing

Editor's Corner

Wed, 16 Aug 2006 20:01:35 -0400

I recently had a chance to speak with UTStarcom's director of worldwide marketing, Brian Caskey about what he calls "fixed-mobile entertainment," a term I'll certainly co-op in the future. Caskey explained that "Fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) is really giving the consumer the best kind of connection you can in any given situation--when you go into a house, a home, an office, whatever--you're going to lose that call eventually. FMC means that regardless of where you are, you're going to keep that call up and therefore, keep them on the call." While we typically think of voice when discussing FMC, Caskey argues that won't be the case for very long. The future of mobile TV, in fact, depends on FME: "The next step for FMC is to get media to the customers. When you're watching television at home and you know you have to go out and take your kids to ballet, or whatever, with fixed-mobile entertainment, you're going to have the ability to stream that to your handset--and that's really the way this mobile TV thing is going to work moving forward."

Obviously, the cross-platform functionality of next-generation networks is going to mean a revolution in the digital home, but current FMC standards like unlicensed mobile access (UMA) can't handle video and other media. FMC and FME in the years ahead will require a more robust network set-up, like that offered by an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) infrastructure.

To learn more about IMS, and the killer apps it will support, come to FierceMarkets' IMS Executive Summit in Washington, D.C. The two day event has two tracks and boasts a who's who in networking. The Diffusion Group's Colin Dixon is moderating the killer apps panel. Register now and enter my last name, "DOLAN" for an instant $200 off admission.

ALSO: TDG's Colin Dixon spoke at a FierceIPTV Live Webinar yesterday on best practices in deploying an IPTV service. Tektronix sponsored the webinar, which featured Keith Cobler and Jon Hammarstrom of Tektronix as well as Keith Wymbs of Tut Systems. Take a listen to the archived webinar here and be sure to stick around for the lively Q&A session at the end. - Brian

Ericsson's IPTV vision leverages IMS

Wed, 05 Jul 2006 20:01:30 -0400

At the Seventh Annual Telecommunications and ICT Summit in Auckland last week, Ericsson's New Zealand GM Steve Inglis said the company plans to leverage its IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) offerings to succeed in the IPTV market. Ericsson recently launched an IPTV vision that includes PCs, mobiles and television sets as client devices, working off IMS within operator networks. Sony, Kasenna and Tandberg Television teamed up with Ericsson to unveil the service in Chicago last month. Inglis also noted that WiFi would not work as a means for a connected digital home because of insufficient capacity. Inglis said the New Zealand government's recent move to put money into a digital TV network without looking more closely at IPTV was "interesting."

For more on Ericsson's IMS/IPTV vision:
- check out this article from m-net.nz

Metric: IPTV, new media to top $27B in US by 2011

Wed, 26 Apr 2006 20:01:35 -0400

According to a recent report conducted by Insight Research, IPTV, mobile TV and Internet streaming media will be worth $27 billion in the U.S. by 2011. The figure includes money derived from network-related equipment sales and content-generated revenue from the end user. The report focuses solely on "streaming media," which the research firm defines as digital audio and video files over an IP network or wireless network in real-time or on demand that cannot be stored locally. At first glance, lumping IPTV in with mobile TV and Internet TV seems like an odd idea. However, with the rise of IMS between now and 2011, this approach seems to make sense as IMS will provide a common IP architecture for VoIP, IPTV, Internet data services and wireless services. While the figure seems somewhat bullish since it considers the U.S. only, the firm qualifies the estimate as "conservative."

For more on Insight's latest report:
- see this press release

Editor's Corner

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 19:01:40 -0500

The integration of IPTV services within an IMS infrastructure has become a fundamental part of equipment vendors' and carriers' IPTV strategy. Find out how from the experts at the FierceMarkets IMS Executive Summit in Washington, DC, August 29-30. Register today to take advantage of the "super-early-bird" offer and save $600 off the registration fee. Hurry, as this offer ends tomorrow. - Leena

Nortel targets 'services' to drive growth

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 19:01:36 -0500

Nortel President and CEO Mike Zafirovski has identified "services" as one of the key strategic areas to drive business momentum and growth. In that effort, Nortel is simplifying its services business and has organized into five key areas that can be bundled. The commercial offerings include IPTV Integration Services that provide a single point-of-contact for multi-vendor network design, lab certification, engineering, configuration and acceptance testing of IPTV services. Nortel has opened a new multi-vendor IPTV integration lab on its Ottawa campus. According to Nortel broadband networks GM Walt Megura, the integration of IPTV services within an IMS infrastructure will be a fundamental part of the vendor's IPTV strategy. Zafirovski has already made public that he wants a minimum of 20 percent market share in all segments that Nortel competes in and wants to be one of the top two vendors. This may be a positive step for Nortel, which has been behind Lucent and Ericsson in the services sector.

To learn more about Nortel's plans:
- read Nortel's press release

PLUS: Just another reminder to register today for FierceMarkets IMS Executive Summit to take advantage of the "super-early-bird" offer and save $600 off the registration fee. Hurry, the offer ends tomorrow!