O2 to join IPTV fray next year
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'I want a piece of that non-action!' O2 says its IPTV efforts have been such a roaring success in the Czech Republic that it'll roll out a similar offering in the UK 2008.â¦
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Upcoming set-top box will offer TV, digital video recording, and Internet access in one.
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Ofcom, the United Kingdom&#39;s regulatory agency for telecommunications, revealed plans to facilitate voice over IP in the residental market, including a new prefix for broadband numbers.
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SBC Communications selected the new Microsoft IPTV Edition software platform for its Project Lightspeed initiative. The deal, which is valued at $400 million over 10 years, is the first of its kind for any US-based telecommunications provider.
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Company plans to use IP-based gear in network upgrade starting mid-2005, as it seeks to revive its prospects.
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Microsoft is introducing the latest version of its IPTV software, and it's finding some big-name companies willing to bet on its technology.
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Microsoft has tuned up its software for service providers, but consumers shouldn't expect much in the near future.Photos: Is IPTV software ready for prime time?IPTV chugs along
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft updated and renamed its IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) software, now called Mediaroom. The updated software, formerly called Microsoft TV IPTV Edition, adds functions including picture-in-picture capability, along with music and photo sharing within a home, and digital video recording. IPTV delivers television programming to users via the Internet, allowing for more interactive services such as video on demand . The update is aimed at expanding Microsoft's reach into the so-called digital home, allowing a user's various devices to interact, and to connect hardware, such as the XBox 360, with online services like Windows Live. Bill GatesÂ outlined the company's digital home strategyÂ at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. Microsoft announced in May that it had formed a joint venture with Taiwan's Chungwa Telecom to bring VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) to SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses) and IPTV to customers in Taiwan and China.
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Variety - SYDNEY -- Foxtel, Australia's dominant paybox, is embarking on the second phase of its expansion plan after switching to digital last March.
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China's powerful Shanghai Media Group said Thursday it plans to set up the country's second English-language satellite TV channel, potentially challenging national broadcaster China Central Television for foreign audiences.
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Microsoft's recent successes in the IPTV field have thus far failed to guarantee its seat in that market, especially in Europe where digital video is far more widely deployed.  So this morning's announcement of Microsoft's new "Mediaroom" brand for IPTV services is undoubtedly being dissected in Europe, with every sentence being re-examined to glean any hint of the company's long-term plans.
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Companies are spending more on IP telephony this year, a trend that should continue for at least a couple more years.
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Networking rivals Cisco, 3Com and Enterasys all will release a series of products this month designed to upgrade the infrastructures of businesses of all sizes.
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Regional Bell SBC Communications today announced a 10-year, $400 million deal to use Microsoft&#39;s Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) software platform to power its foray into IP-based television services.
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BroadbandTV hopes that the acquisition of Vuze will solidify its position in the IPTV market, which progressively looks to be the content delivery platform of the future.
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High-definition television is set to take off in Europe in the coming year, say TV executives.
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(InfoWorld) - There could be some competition in the market for Internet-based television technology after all. The hope of MicrosoftÂ to establish its software as the de factoÂ standard for the emerging IPTVÂ (Internet Protocol television) market has dwindled after one of its major allies, the former Alcatel, decided to push its own technology -- again -- and as other industry giants, including Cisco Systems, enter the fray. Alcatel, which made the first U-turn in its IPTV strategy in May 2005 when the French manufacturer decided to align with Microsoft, is now in the process of making yet another. In November, AlcatelÂ filed lawsuits against MicrosoftÂ for several alleged patent infringements, including three related to IPTV. Since then, the French manufacturer hasÂ merged with Lucent Technologies, another player in the IPTV market. And now the newly merged Alcatel-LucentÂ is talking about its own technology again. Why? Maybe because the French-U.S. telecom giant believes it now has enough technology -- and clout -- to carve out its own chunk of what could be a huge market for IPTV systems and services. "Today, video accounts for only around 5 percent of the traffic on IP networks," John Giere, chief marketing officer at Alcatel-Lucent, said in an interview at last week's Telecom World conference and exhibition in Hong Kong. "But according to research conducted by our own Bell Labs, that figure could reach 40 percent by 2010." Alcatel-Lucent, which delivers not only core IP technology to manage video but also software to enable video services, such as IPTV, video mail and video conferencing, says it focuses on open standards, which it sees as a key differentiator to Microsoft. "Our technology is open with open interfaces," Giere said. "Many operators don't want to be overly dependent on Microsoft, which offers a proprietary system." Alcatel-Lucent is developing open APIs (application protocol interfaces), Giere said. "The idea is to have Java-based client software that you can enable across multiple devices." The company is working with several standards bodies to help establish standards for IPTV-related technology, according to Giere. It has also developed personalization features, allowing users, for instance, to upload their own videos to the network and create their own personal TV channel. Meanwhile, Microsoft continues to improve its IPTV software platform and sign up carriers for field trials and, increasingly, commercial services. And, at least for now, the company isn't calling Alcatel-Lucent a competitor. Last week, Singapore TelecommunicationsÂ (SingTel) became the 16th company to agree to use Microsoft TV IPTV Edition software through a deal orchestrated by Alcatel-Lucent. "When we came to the IPTV market, we decided to take a slightly different approach," said Ed Graczyk, director of marketing in the Microsoft TV unit. "Our platform was developed with direct input from carriers that had joined our early adopter program. Some of the features in our platform resulted from the unique requirements of these carriers." If the first wave of technology developed in the Microsoft IPTV platform aimed at creating "a better user experience for viewing TV," the second wave will focus on adding enhancements, such as rapid search functionality for both TV and VOD (video on demand) content and personalization, according to Graczyk. "User-generated content is a big issue," he said. A big development along the way has been the move by chip makers to embed simultaneous multi-stream, multi-codec video decoding functionality into a chip, a functionality that was previously handled by software, according to Graczyk. "This system-on-chip approach will help substantially reduce costs," he said. Not only that, system-on-chip technology could help Microsoft embed its IPTV software into all types of devices, including PCs and gaming devices, so that consumers wouldn't necessarily have to buy a set-top box, according to Graczyk. "Carriers choose us because they know that we will be able to connect all types of devices running on our operating systems," he said. And what if the carrier is a big fan of the open source Linux operating system? "I don't think you'll see our IPTV software running on Linux systems," he said. "But you'll see IPTV software running on other systems." A growing number of competitors hope to achieve just that. In addition to Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, IBM, and Siemens are a few of the big names seeking to carve out a slice of the budding market for IPTV services. Â