“IPTV” was the number one online search term at the 2007 NAB Show among more than 110,000 attendees. In response, “Building Your IPTV Business” grabs the spotlight at Telecom2008.
Presented as part of the NAB Show, April 14–17, Telecom2008 will bring together most of the key players in Internet Protocol television to explore content creation, acquisition, management, protection, and distribution.
Telecom2008 offers four tracks that explore the business strategies and technology necessary to build an IPTV business. These tracks are “The Business of IPTV,” “Telecom Technology Papers,” “IPTV – It’s About the Content,” and the “Telecom Crash Course.” All sessions complement the IPTV and TV Content pavilions on the show floor.
The strong interest in IPTV last year attracted such conference sponsors this year as Forbes, Forrester Research, TM Forum, Conklin Intracom, SecureMedia, SES Americom, and Symmetricom.
Team Lightspeed, the 2007 and 2008 conference producers, portray Telecom2008 as a chance to discover the latest equipment, techniques and services of IPTV.
“The sessions and workshops will leave you with a better understanding of what your competition already knows,” according to Team Lightspeed partner Mark Rebholz. “Plan to leave the conference with the technology, insight and contacts necessary to successfully launch and grow an IPTV business.”
Through presentations by executives from leading telecom carriers and vendors in IPTV and broadband video from the U.S. and overseas, Rebholz promises “side-by-side comparisons, shoot-outs and demonstrations of the broadband video ecosystem. You also can network with service providers, technology suppliers and local broadcasters eager for partnerships.”
The first track, “The Business of IPTV,” will feature experts offering their insights on technical and business challenges as well as the revenue opportunities from deploying IPTV and broadband video services — all punctuated with real-world deployment experiences. This track runs on Monday and Tuesday, April 14 and 15, from 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
Topics covered in the track include negotiating content deals; using a content aggregator; IPTV billing systems; video-on-demand (VOD); IPTV set-top box features and needs; HDTV and MPEG4 on IPTV; interactive advertising; electronic program guides; broadband video security; IPTV regulatory issues and cross-platform mobile services.
The second track, “IPTV – It’s about the Content,” will cover the legal, technical and business issues of creating and acquiring IPTV content. This track runs Tuesday and Wednesday, April 15 and 16, from 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
Topics discussed in the content track will include developing a content package relevant to the customers; designing and building IPTV production facilities; partnering with local broadcasters; acquiring top-tier programming; delivering digital content across multiple devices; integrating cross-platform services; VOD, gaming; and adult content.
The third track, “Telecom Technology Papers,” will offer a series of short presentations on cutting-edge telecom technologies for IPTV and broadband video. A total of 21 technical papers will be presented Tuesday and Wednesday, April 15 and 16, from 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
Each 20-minute presentation provides a detailed explanation of an innovation in telecom technology and explains how it can benefit your business. The papers are targeted to engineers and executives with an understanding of how technology affects their business.
Papers scheduled will cover such IPTV technology topics as Ethernet connectivity, network convergence, IP signaling, HDTV on broadband networks, network security, the triple play and quadruple play, billing and customer care, video metrics for QoS testing and monitoring, next-gen broadband networks, next-gen video coding, IPv6, FTTx and POTS/DSL combos, GPON/BPON, Wi-Fi, WiMAX, and AWS.
The fourth track is the “Telecom Crash Course,” slated for Thursday, March 17, from 9 a.m.–1 p.m. Telecom guru Steven Shepard will present innovative ideas for successfully managing legacy and next-gen networks.
Among his topics, Shepard will discuss why Google is building a brand-new optical cable across the Pacific; choosing the right business model; how to make “lots of money” by using the social networking sites; what the 2008 elections mean to the telecom industry; and why the U.S. lags behind many European and Asian countries in IPTV deployments.