TelcoTV 2006 Coverage

Welcome

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 17:30:37 -0500

TelcoTV is arguably the most important conference for those following the IPTV industry in the U.S. Come Monday, November 6th 2006, Iâ€™ll be liveblogging from the showfloor with coverage from the most interesting panel sessions, interviews with various industry luminaries and, of course, extensive coverage of the party scene in Dallas, Texas. Be sure to send me any thoughts, suggestions, scoops or rants about the show at brian@fierceiptv.com. See you in Dallas!
FierceIPTV's coverage of TelcoTV 2006 is brought to you by Irdeto.

Broadstream and Auroras merge to form Avail Media

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 10:14:41 -0500

Washington, DC - 12/14/06

IPTV and advanced media services companies Auroras Entertainment, LLC and Broadstream Communications, Inc., have signed a Letter of Intent to merge following shareholder approval.

The name of the combined entity will be Avail Media, Inc. ("Avail"). Ramu Potarazu, formerly COO of Intelsat and now CEO of Broadstream, will become CEO of Avail.

Diane Smith, Auroras' CEO, will become President of Avail. Rounding out the executive team will be Jon Romm - EVP of Sales, Marketing and Business Development; Steve Bukowski - EVP, Integration and Operations; Mike Kazmier - EVP, Technology; and Ben Goux - CFO.

Both Broadstream and Auroras will be wholly owned entities of Avail Media. Ramu Potarazu, a seasoned veteran of the satellite and technology industries, explained, "The combined strength of the two companies is compelling. The advanced media services and IPTV marketplace is challenging, both technically and operationally. The companies saw an opportunity to better meet these challenges and deliver a larger breadth of services to our customers.

"Auroras' MPEG-4 IPTV solution has been deployed to telco and FTTH customers nationwide and their team has developed proprietary technologies that support these new services.

"Broadstream has a robust middleware product, along with strong channel and content partnerships, and a growing customer pipeline. Both companies have a history of working with programmers to meet their concerns for quality and security and the combination of the two companies we feel builds on those strong relationships.

"We're excited about working with programmers and our customers to increase their revenue streams by introducing new network edge and advanced media services."

Broadstream, headquartered in Bellevue, Wash., was founded over three years ago; its shareholders include Pioneer Ventures and Benaroya Capital. Auroras, headquartered in Kalispell, MT, also began operations over three years ago.

Among its shareholders is the Montana communications company, 3 Rivers Communications. Following the merger, the company will relocate its headquarters to Washington, DC, and will maintain technology development and sales offices in Bellevue and Kalispell.

The merger is expected to close early in 2007, commercial services will launch at that time. The service suite ramp will include IP-based VOD, PVR, HDTV, and additional local edge capabilities. Existing customers will see improvements to their service immediately and new enhancements will be ongoing.

Diane Smith described Auroras' enthusiasm for the deal. "The synergies were obvious. Auroras had been solely focused on its IPTV services while Broadstream had begun expanding its focus to the cable and advanced media marketplace.

"We recognized that a merger would allow the combined company to get to market faster and offer a broader array of services to our customers. We are extraordinarily impressed with the Broadstream management team and believe that, by combining the best of both management teams, we'll be better able to scale and stay focused on the right strategies in an area that's advancing rapidly."

About Broadstream Communications (www.broadstream.com)
Broadstream Communications, Inc. is the leading provider of managed IPTV network services (IPTV Connect), content management platforms (Bstream) and affiliate rights and marketing support services (Media Services). Broadstream operates an all digital (IP) virtual head-end network and service offering that enables network operators to provide an efficient, cost-effective video service product offering over the economics of self-built head-end systems. Additional information can be found at www.broadstream.com.

About Auroras (www.auroras.tv)
About Auroras Entertainment, LLC: Auroras Entertainment provides a combination of services and technologies that enable service providers to deploy entertainment services to their customers over existing IP networks. The Auroras solution offers service providers up to a 90% capital expense reduction over a self-provisioned head-end system. The service includes Digitization and Transport Rights, wholesale Affiliate Rights, a complete Video-On-Demand Component, IP Set Top Boxes, and complete 24/7 on-call and on-site customer support. Additional information can be found at www.auroras.tv.

RELEASE: Juniper study finds IPv6 transition will bring in $97M in government IT spending by '11

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 10:25:47 -0500

IPV6 TRANSITION WILL IMPACT 30 PERCENT OF U.S. GOVERNMENT IT PURCHASING DECISIONS IN 2007, ACCORDING TO IPV6 GOVERNMENT ACTION STUDY Juniper Networksâ€™ 2nd Annual Commissioned Research Uncovers Greater Need for U.S. Government Involvement in IPv6 Transition SUNNYVALE, Calif., November 6, 2006 -- Juniper Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: JNPR) today released results of the Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) Government Action Study: Progress and Promise of the U.S. IPv6 Transition. The company and SynExi, founded by globally renowned IPv6 experts, combined their talents to comprehensively examine, realize and highlight the status and successes of IPv6 transformation in the U.S. government. The study indicates that 30 percent of federal and state/local government executives will be influenced by the transition to IPv6 in their IT purchasing decisions, which equates to $39 billion in government IT spending where IPv6 will have an impact; by 2008, IPv6 influence will jump to 44 percent, an estimated $62 billion.1 â€œIt is not surprising that IPv6 is playing such a significant role in IT purchasing decisions, as the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has required the transition from Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) to next generation IPv6 by June 2008,â€ said Peter Tseronis, director of Network Services for the U.S. Department of Education and co-chair for the Federal IPv6 Working Group. â€œIPv6 IT purchases in FY07 and FY08 will likely focus on training services, testing and engineering services, and production equipment.â€ Additional key findings of the IPv6 Government Action Study include: 86 percent of government respondents believe that foreign nationsâ€™ headstart in the adoption of IPv6 in Asia, Europe and other regions abroad will negatively impact the U.S. Respondents who believe there will be a negative impact cited technological leadership (70 percent), national security (62 percent), and influence over Internet stability (58 percent) as top areas of concern. The federal government should play an active role in the commercial adoption of IPv6 in the U.S., according to 85 percent of government respondents; 53 percent also believe that the federal government should provide guidance and some level of funding to support the U.S. private sector transition to IPv6. 67 percent of industry respondents said that the government IPv6 transition will speed the inclusion of IPv6 capabilities in their organizationsâ€™ products and services. In making IT purchasing decisions, 68 percent of government respondents are more likely to choose a vendor with IPv6 capabilities; 30 percent of respondents are also willing to pay more for IPv6 capabilities. 75 percent of government respondents believe that a U.S. Government IPv6 Transition Office would be very or somewhat helpful, assuming it received the proper levels of funding and authority. Depletion of additional IPv4 addresses will have a negative impact on their government organization, according to 70 percent of government respondents. 45 percent of state/local government respondents indicated that they are interested in receiving IPv6 recommendations and best practices from the federal government; 36 percent of state/local government respondents said that they would be interested in understanding the impact of interoperability with federal programs. â€œThere has been a tremendous amount of attention surrounding IPv6 in opportunities for increased security, scalability and innovation,â€ said Lou Anne Brossman, director of U.S. Public Sector Marketing at Juniper Networks. â€œWhat the IPv6 Government Action Study has uncovered is significant data on many unanswered questions, including IPv6 spending levels in the immediate future, the civilian and state/local government â€˜catch upâ€™ on IPv6 adoption, and the extent of government knowledge surrounding the consequences of IP address depletion.â€ An additional component of the IPv6 Government Action Study included a comparison to Juniper Networksâ€™ IPv6 IQ Study, commissioned in May 2005. In the past 16 months, the importance of IPv6 in supporting federal agenciesâ€™ overall IT goals has grown from 44 percent to 64 percent within the defense community, and 27 percent to 49 percent within the civilian community. Additionally, 34 percent of defense executives claim that their agencies have a written IPv6 transition plan, as compared to 12 percent in May 2005. For civilian executives, 25 percent have a written IPv6 transition plan, as compared to 4 percent in May 2005. â€œThe results of the Juniper Networksâ€™IPv6 Government Action Study clearly indicate the success of the U.S. government moving forward in the transition to IPv6 and the next generation Internet,â€ said Dr. Chuck Lynch, co-founder of SynExi and former lead DoD technologist for IPv6. â€œBut, it also clearly conveys the need for a centralized IPv6 Transition Office to coordinate the continued transition and for a national strategy to help transition the country to IPv6. The Internet has become a critical differentiator for the U.S. and we need to maintain leadership as we move into the future.â€ The results were based on a survey of more than 1,000 respondents from federal, defense and state/local government organizations, and industry IT decision makers. The margin of error for the entire sample is +/- 5.45 percent. For more information on Juniper Networks IPv6 solutions, or to download a copy of the IPv6 Government Action Study, please visit: http://www.juniperipv6.net. About Juniper Networks, Inc. Juniper Networks develops purpose-built, high performance IP platforms that enable customers to support a wide variety of services and applications at scale. Service providers, enterprises, governments and research and education institutions rely on Juniper to deliver a portfolio of proven networking, security and application acceleration solutions that solve highly complex, fast-changing problems in the world's most demanding networks. Additional information can be found at www.juniper.net. About SynExi, LLC Fairfax, VA-based SynExi is a partnership between leading technology experts to provide strategic-level consulting to meet the challenges associated with technology transition. SynExi focuses on the identification, development, and adoption of new technologies to usher in next-generation capabilities to meet the ever-changing mission and requirements of commercial, governmental and international organizations. For more information on SynExi, technology transition, or IPv6 visit www.synexi.net. ### Juniper Networks and the Juniper Networks logo are registered trademarks of Juniper Networks, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, or registered service marks are the property of their respective owners. 1 Based on INPUT Federal IT Forecast, FY2006-FY2011 and INPUT State and Local IT Forecast, FY2006-FY2011

Eagle swoops in on Long Tail

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 09:09:13 -0500

I had a nice chat with Eagle Broadband COO and GM of IPTV Solutions Brian Morrow about one of the company's additional strategies, in light of the Web 2.0 revolution, the advent of â€œThe Long Tailâ€ and the Google-YouTube acquisition. Eagle is in advanced talks with number niche content providers, like a horse-racing broandband TV channel and a Latino one based in Miami. Morrow says the company plans to launch a broad swath of content, including subscription based of pay-per-view adult content and ad-subsidized niche channels like the two previously mentioned. Apart from bandwidth restraints, what does an IPTV provider have to lose? Hawking an additional 500 niche channels through an indexed EPG menu can be ignored by those subscribers that would rather stick to the mainstream offerings, but could also bring in greater revenue streams for advertisers, service providers and the niche content providers alike. IPTV cannot subsist on horse-racing, Latino programming and adult content alone, but differentiation from cable MSOs probably depends on an aggressive embrace of The Long Tail. So when licensing deals with the movie studios are getting you down, take a break and call up the electric model train channel or the Danish tourism channel. Can't imagine them giving you a headache over DRM. While the company is still hashing out the business strategy and the technical execution is still in beginning stages, I think itâ€™s safe to say Eagle is onto something here.

TelcoTV Interview: Jeff Weber of AT&T

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 19:01:30 -0500

AT&T's Jeff Weber is the vice president of product and strategy and is responsible for the new data and video services the carrier is rolling out, including Homezone and U-Verse. Jeff and I sat down for a quick chat in the press room yesterday to discuss Microsoft middleware, the need for both Homezone and U-Verse, the rumored Verizon-YouTube deal and content security. Here are a few excerpts from our chat:

Microsoft Middleware
FierceIPTV: So, Microsoft is not exhibiting or attending TelcoTV. Any idea why not?
Weber: You know, you're the second person that told me that. I didn't know that and no, I don't know why.
FierceIPTV: Some are saying they are not here because they don't want to hear anymore about their middleware delaying IPTV rollouts.
Weber: Well, I don't know about that, but everything is on track. I can tell you, no one is more excited about [the ongoing AT&T U-Verse] launch than Microsoft. They are excited to prove their technology works.

Homezone vs. U-Verse
FierceIPTV: Why the need for a Homezone service when you have U-Verse?
Weber: Great question. By the end of 2008, we will still have 50 percent of our subscribers (that's 19 million homes) left unpassed for U-Verse service, but right now we have 90 percent of our customers Homezone-ready. And Homezone offers TV from Dish, photo applications as well as music. It's going to be around for a long time.
FierceIPTV: Five years?
Weber: You can't see five years ahead in this business. Can you imagine answering that question five years ago. Homezone will be around for as long as the eye can see.

For Weber's thoughts on Verizon-YouTube and content security:
- read the rest of the interview

Report: Verizon set to offer YouTube on VOD

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 19:01:20 -0500

As Jason over at FierceMobileContent reported, The Wall Street Journal reports today that Verizon is in advanced talks with YouTube to bring the popular Internet video site's clips to mobile phones and televisions. According to sources close to the negotiations, subscribers of Verizon Wireless' premium V Cast service would be given access to about 50 to 100 of the most popular YouTube videos at any given time; by year's end, users should also be able to upload personal video shot with a Verizon camera phone to the V Cast network.

While many in the industry are dismissing this deal as of little consequence to either YouTube or Verizon, I must humbly disagree. The deal has huge implications for user-generated content--making it available through a VOD service. If Google's $1.6 billion acquisition of YouTube didn't do enough to validate the UGC sector, Verizon's decision to offer that content to its paying subscribers on an actual television should leave no doubt that this is a sector with legs. While the deal is still just a rumor (the WSJ rarely gets it wrong, though), hopefully it will encourage other telcos to look at so-called Web 2.0 content offerings and incorporate them into their IPTV offerings. Why not Digg.com on an EPG? And if you've got a deal with Fox for content, why not see how to work MySpace in, too?

For more on the deal:
- see the full article over at FierceMobileContent
- and the article over at WSJ (sub. req.)

TelcoTV: Adult content interactivity is the killer app?

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 19:01:00 -0500

Oof, it's a painful phrase to use, "killer app" that is, but adult content is considered by many to have been the killer app for the VCR and the Internet, so why not IPTV too?

The second keynote panel at TelcoTV on Tuesday was moderated by The Pivot Group's Bernie Arnason, who broke Internet TV content down into three categories:

Home Video
Episodic
Semi-/professional content

The list was quite similar to the one that Blip.tv's Mike Hudack came up with, however, Akimbo's CEO Josh Goldman said movies and adult content should each be their own separate category, too. After Goldman made the comment Dave.tv's COO Trey Gaskins leaned away from him, a facetious move aimed at distancing himself from the adult content comment. It garnered a few laughs, of course.

However, Goldman's point should not be laughed off as easily: Adult content made the VCR a success by most accounts, the Internet a success by many accounts and according to some friends in the mobile content industry over in the U.K., it's driving the mobile broadband business over there. I'll stay away from interactivity on this one...

Stay tuned for more on adult content and IPTV.

Disney: If you build the tech, we'll make content

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 19:00:50 -0500

The pre-show keynote panel on Monday was held in a smaller room within the Gaylord Texan and Convention Center, as expected, but it was so crowded that calling it "standing room only" would be a falsity. There wasn't even anywhere to stand.

President and CEO of Federal Hill, Bethany Gorfine moderated the panel, which included Jon Cody, VP of Digital Media at Twentieth Century Fox; Gene Pao, the executive director of business strategy and development at Disney & ESPN media networks; and Doug Hurst, SVP, On Demand and Affiliate Marketing, Scripps Networks. Here's a sampling of the discussion broken down by the key topics:

If you build it, content will come
Pao: We are slaves to the technology, if you build it we will make the content for it…

Why content costs so much
Gorfine: The movie business is considered by many to be a poor investment.
Cody: At the end of the day we have an 80-20 set-up, 80 percent of them are misses and 20 percent are wins (profitable). Borat looks to be the studio's big winner this year.

On place-shifting content
Cody: Right now we do have theoretical problems with technologies like Sling, but we may soon have some legal ones too. Porting our content to markets where it is against regulations to do so, for instance, we don't have the license to broadcast certain sports games in market A because a different network, a local channel, might. That said, at the end of the day, we are all about giving the consumer what he wants, when he wants and where he wants it.

For more sound bites from the keynote:
- check out the full article here

Update: TelcoTV Conference reviews mixed

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 08:57:28 -0500

Thanks for the comments below, Tim. Here's the update as promised: UPDATE: Iâ€™m still waiting on final numbers from CMP and Shorecliff, but anecdotal reports indicate the showâ€™s attendance climbed from an approximate 2,300 attendees last year to closer to 3,000 this year, no small feat. Indeed, most executives I spoke with agreed TelcoTV is the premier show for all things IPTV. Some even like the venue, but I must humbly disagree with that sentimentâ€”San Diego offered much more in the way of nightlife, and the venue accommodated the attendees with more space and fewer floor changes. So it's a mixed bag of reviews, as is the case with most shows. To hear the "old-timers" who attended the original show six years ago, which they tell me, consisted of a congregation of maybe 200 people around a few large tables. And as always, what's really important is the content. The show has provided grat fodder for discussion--my meetings were all charged with energy, mostly because of the surge in interest in Internet TV--it's certainly spread to TelcoTV, too. Original Post: CMP recently acquired Shorecliff Communications, which is the company largely responsible for the TelcoTV show. Some industry trade groups help with the content, too. Many attendees are not happy with the show this year--less so than last year. Here are a few common gripes: Some of the panels only have two speakers on them, and word is it's not by choice. The press room was also lacking a sponsor which is highly unusual for a conference of this sort. (I don't blame them, the press room is tiny compared to last year's.) I also heard attendance is down, but I don't have the exact figures yet, so I'll hold off from making leaping declarations there. On a final note, the conference is not in Dallas, Texas as I have said before. It's in Grapevine, Texas. We are a full 26 miles from the city, a fact not lost on attendees according to the taxi drivers here. They said passengers have been complaining all day about the convention center complex we're all trapped in out here in the 'burbs.

Gaming: The app IPTV forgot

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 08:46:34 -0500

UPDATE: I managed to meet up with gaming company: Games4TV, which, according to the show guide is the only gaming-specific company exhibiting at TelcoTV. Games4TV is head up by Laura Buddine, whose claim to fame is inventing one of Thomsonâ€™s first set-top boxes. Buddine is bullish on gaming for the IPTV space, and like the Tier 3 telco I had spoken with earlier, agreed that gaming will be the first interactive feature deployed by the CLECs and IOCs. Surprisingly, Games4TV already has deals in place with some of the more aggressive IPTV service providers, including SaskTel, Manitoba a hospitality company called Skylight and a few others. As luck would have it I ended up sitting next to a serious World of Warcraft gamer on the flight backâ€”he claims heâ€™s already reached the highest level of the game after nearly two years of playâ€”heâ€™s also met his girlfriend and nearly all of this friends through the game. And after seeing the screenshots Games4TV is offering he laughs at the graphics and says: â€œI donâ€™t even have a TV.â€ Probably because he pays $15 a month for each of his two subscriptions for the game, as well as an additional $50 a month for faster broadband service. A monthly fee of $80--for gaming alone. It seems like IPTV gaming is a bit of a lame duck right nowâ€”it wonâ€™t be a draw for the serious gamers that are eating up tons of bandwidth on the data side of the triple play, but gaming could be the app that introduces early IPTV users to interactive TV. Thatâ€™s one nut the industry has yet to crack, and is one half of the original promise of IPTV: personalized, interactive television. Buddine share this view of gaming too, hopefully the telcos catch on. Original post: Service providers with triple play offerings can learn a lot about their subscribers by keeping an eye on their usage patterns. One Tier 2 operator told me he noticed his subscribers include some heavy online gamers on his data service. He assumes that means interactivity features, like gaming applications, for instance, may be a good fit for his subscriber base because of it. While I agree a heavy gamer might be interested in interactive TV features, I doubt a die-hard World of Warcraft aficionado is going to waste time playing puzzle games on his TV when he could be online killing orcs. Is gaming a necessary feature for an IPTV service? The answer is a resounding no, but many in the industry still include it among the standard fare. I've seen a couple booths set up by gaming companies here at TelcoTV, so I'll have a chat with them today.