|
|
|
|
The Changing Market -- No Longer Business As Usual on the Testing Front
|
|
The network testing market is changing. Economic realities are forcing service providers and device manufacturers to work more efficiently together in the testing process in order to bring products to market faster and at lower cost.
|
|
|
|
|
Top Five Ways the Next 5 Years of Voice Communications Will Be Different than the Past 5 Years
|
|
Today, virtually every major network operator is either deploying IP technology or finalizing plans for doing so, and over the next few years, the impact will be felt by everyone. Here are some top trends as we look ahead to the next five years.
|
|
|
|
|
IPTV Testing: Considerations Prior to Deployment
|
|
Just how fragile is an IPTV network? What the end result of issues like"half-time" channel surge and security threats, quality of service and experience limitations can mean to the end user ? Here is a look at IPTV testing.
|
|
|
|
|
Who's afraid of A La Carte?
|
|
There has been a considerable backlash from cable operators towards the FCC's attempt to force a la carte programming upon them. The underlying issue concerns the shattering of the old rules of how content is consumed and distributed. PCCW's Hong Kong IPTV operation Now Broadband TV, the pioneer of a la carte programming globally, has taken a different approach to a la carte. Here are some tips on how to make this model work.
|
|
|
|
|
MBMS – The Newest Mobile Multimedia Standard
|
|
In June of 2005, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) completed Release 6 of its technical specifications for the continued evolution of 3rd generation (3G) cellular networks based on the GSM infrastructure. Included in 3GPP Release 6 are the specifications for the Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (MBMS), an IP-based technology designed to more efficiently deliver multimedia (video, audio, and text) content over 3G radio and network resources. Here is an overview.
|
|
|
|
|
How Much Bandwidth is Enough?
|
|
The debate over how much bandwidth is necessary and which network architecture is best optimized for its delivery is far from over. Some operators, such as Verizon are hedging their bets that bandwidth demands will tilt towards the high end and are driving fiber all the way to the home, while others such as SBC, Bell Canada and Deutsche Telekom are choosing to take a more measured approach. To err on the conservative side, operators around the globe are settling on a 20 Mbps starting point, with 100Mbps as the ultimate long-term bandwidth target.
|
|
|
|
|
The Top 10 Lessons Wireline Service Providers Have Learned About Deploying IPTV
|
|
Dozens of wireline service providers across North America have successfully deployed commercial IPTV services. Despite these deployments' great diversity in size, technologies employed, and competitive environments, many best practices and proven success recipes have emerged. Here are the Top 10 Lessons Learned about IPTV deployments so far.
|
|
|
|
|
The Essential Components of IPTV
|
|
We know IPTV will revolutionize the way we watch television in terms of giving us access to services such as listening to our home voice mail from our TV directory, or allowing us to order a pizza from our TV, before our HD movie begins. But, with so many companies vying for position in this hot sector of telecom, and IPTV-mania sweeping the networking landscape, there is a lot of confusion about how to deliver these kinds of revolutionary new services. Many vendors are talking about a complex set of systems that many telcos, such as SBC, are spending billions of dollars to acquire. This article breaks down the complexities IPTV into four bite-size components: the IPTV head-end, the backbone network, the access network and the subscriber premises.
|
|
|
|
|
Unicast vs. Multicast <br> The Challenge for Cablecos
|
|
The world of television is becoming a confusing place. Technology that has remained stable and consistent for over four decades is suddenly being usurped. On the one hand, there is an increasingly rapid shift to HD underway. On the other, IPTV is arriving to shake things up. It is therefore not surprising that the world of programming is undergoing a revolution.
|
|
|
|
|
Silicon Photonics Could Revolutionize Future Servers and Networks
|
|
The rates at which computers can process information are beginning to outpace their abilities for them to transmit and receive it. While metal wires have difficulty moving gigabits of data further than a football field, individual fibers have the capability to carry terabits of data between cities. The electrical lines connecting chips, boards and systems will have difficulty keeping up with Moore's law. Electrical must give way to optical. Here is a perspective on Silicon Photonics.
|
|
|
|
|
Network Neutrality: A Broadband Wild West?
|
|
Should broadband network operators be legally bound to treat all services that move across their network the same way - not blocking any competing service or boosting their own offerings? With limited network resources and many competing demands by subscribers, applications, and content providers, satisfying the demands of one stakeholder means taking resources away from another. This problem, along with the greedy nature of applications and the over-subscription model of the Internet challenges network operators and the regulatory environment as they strive to maintain Internet freedoms.
|
|
|
|
|
Why is Asia leading the Global IPTV Revolution?
|
|
Asia is leading the IPTV revolution. The region boasts the highest broadband penetration rates and is already the fastest growing market for IPTV. Forecasts predict IPTV subscribers set to double in the next 12 months for major markets in Hong Kong, Japan and Korea. There are a number of contributing factors for IPTV that are shared across other markets in Asia. However, IPTV business models and technologies are still evolving. The next 12-18 months will be an exciting time.
|
|
|
|
|
The Emerging World of On-Demand Entertainment
|
|
On-demand entertainment services are rapidly changing the market. Movie-based VOD services are transforming into much more robust offerings, with significantly increased libraries of content. If we look at a snapshot of today, we see broadcast and VOD services consuming anywhere from ~200 Mbps to ~1.5 Gbps depending on the peak take rate of VOD services and node size. As we look out a few years, we see the positive implications of more advanced video compression and"trickle-down" content distribution technologies, but the exponentially negative implications of increased on-demand consumption, as well as the proliferation of higher bit rate HDTV signals--which are not only three times as bandwidth intensive as standard TV (SDTV) signals, but represent complementary, not substitute, carriage for existing SDTV channels. These changes push bandwidth requirements for broadcast and VOD services delivery to anywhere from ~500 Mbps at low VOD take rates to nearly 4 Gbps at high VOD take rates and varying node sizes.
|
|
|
|
|
Video Networks that Pay As You Grow
|
|
Video-on-demand (VOD) service is one of the best ways for broadband service providers to add new revenue and improve customer retention, but so far, the presumed dash to implement it has been more of a stroll. While there are growing signs of VOD service adoption, worldwide VOD deployment in general has been slower than expected. There's a pretty simple business reason for this: money.
|
|
|
|
|
The Value of "Where" in Developing a Triple Play Strategy
|
|
For telecommunications carriers and cable service providers who are grappling with the prospect of adding a Triple Play component to their networks (voice, video or data), the lure can often seem more like Pandora's Box than low-hanging fruit. One way to mitigate this risk is to develop a strategic approach that uses geographic location as its focal point. There are few industries today where location is as important as the telecommunications sector. By analyzing location at the outset, a provider can form a Triple Play strategy based on what makes the most business sense.
|
|
|
|
|
Offering TV Services in the Age of the Internet: A Primer on Consumer TV Usage
|
|
For telcos to successfully compete head to head with cable and satellite TV providers, they need to go beyond building and managing a new network. The more difficult task will be convincing consumers that their local telephone company is the best choice for TV services. To address this challenge, telcos must understand TV usage in the Internet age. Here's a primer.
|
|
|
|
|
Taking Cable's Lunch Money
|
|
Some would have us believe that phone companies must defend themselves from turf encroachment by the likes of the Cable MSO. Another way of looking at the situation is that network and service convergence makes Cable revenues vulnerable to exploitation by traditional telephone carriers seeking top line growth.
|
|
|
|
|
Triple Play and Competitive Advantage: Lessons from Cable
|
|
The cable companies have decades of experience in delivering video services to consumers. As the business paths of telecom and cable converge, telecommunications providers can learn much from cable's experiences that will help them devise strategies for digital video. Here are three such lessons.
|
|
|
|
|
Tracking the Evolving Regulatory Issues and Business Economics Surrounding Triple Play Deployment
|
|
What issues are involved for a telco who is planning to deliver video? Will they need to re-classify through the FCC? What should they expect and what areas should they consider from a regulatory standpoint?
|
|
|
|
|
The Coming Explosion of Fiber to the Home
|
|
A silent revolution is brewing. By the time the public hears about it, the revolution will be at full speed like a runaway train.
|
|
|
|
|
Services Evolution -- the Opportunity of Change
|
|
For nearly five decades, a handful of media executives have decided what video programming will be available to hundreds of millions of viewers and when that programming will be broadcast. This paradigm is falling apart. IPTV and a concept called "the personal media channel" presents service providers with an historic opportunity to leapfrog the competition into the new world of video entertainment.
|
|
|
|
|
Race to the Starting Line: Creating Profitable Convergent Experiences
|
|
Wireline providers should look to the wireless industry for a successfully content partnership model. Although many global wireless operators have learned the value of building profitable convergent experiences by bundling access with valuable content services, most broadband service providers remain ill-equipped to leverage these same opportunities. One key is to create third-party value chains with content producers using automated and auditable billing settlement processes.
|
|
|
|
|
Three Steps to Successful Triple Play Services
|
|
Implementing a successful Triple Play services offer requires a comprehensive plan. Key elements of this plan include an analysis of the specific services and revenue potential, a clear understanding of the bandwidth and access vehicles required to implement these services, along with a thorough business analysis to insure profitability.
|
|
|
|
|
Video: The Next Front in the Broadband War
|
|
An investigation of market dynamics for Telco Triple Play and why video is the next front in the broadband wars. With MSOs poised to add cut-rate VoIP to their service bundles, telcos must act now to move to higher-value premium services.
|
