IPTV standards

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IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) represents telecommunications companies' answer to the inroads that cable operators have made into the traditional telephone business. Regional phone companies are being pressured financially by services introduced by new rivals within the cable industry, which now offer consumers not only broadband Internet access, but also packaged voice calling plans as part of "triple play" services.

Telcos have upgraded and continue to improve their networks, some even running fibre directly to the consumer's door. This is done to enhance their own service offering and enable delivery of triple play services - voice, video, and data - in the form of high-speed Internet access, hundreds of TV channels, and phone packages.

The migration to IP-based technology promises a great deal of flexibility and creativity in the delivery of audio, video, and data to consumers' homes and even to their personal mobile devices. The IPTV model delivers digital television services, sent in the form of IP packets, to subscribers over a broadband network.

A set-top box or receiver re-assembles these packets to provide TV channels in a very efficient manner. As a two-way connection, IPTV enables the launch of innovative interactive services such as video-on-demand (VOD), web browsing, and e-mail and messaging services. Reliance on IP-based technology also can support more convenient access to media and information.

Future IPTV services will include advanced advertising services - targeted by neighborhood, household, or individual; interactive advertising; as-watched reports to advertisers; and advertising in the electronic program guide (EPG), side-bars, etc.

They also will incorporate games and pictures, consumer-originated content, and other interactive features. Because it uses a worldwide standard for the exchange of data among networked devices, IPTV offers the possibility of bringing more variety, portability, and customisation to the viewing experience.

Along with all of this new functionality comes the opportunity to preserve or increase revenues, a necessity for telcos as their share of the voice market erodes. Critical to successful delivery of IPTV service, however, is quality assurance, particularly as IPTV service providers move from trials and early commercial implementation to full-scale deployments.

The number of IPTV subscribers has been growing steadily, by several million a year over 2005 and 2006 and increasing at such a rate that projections are as high as 63 million subscribers worldwide by 2010. For this market growth to yield real profits for IPTV providers, the adoption of comprehensive IPTV standards is a must.

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