Ericsson is the latest telecommunications equipment maker to enter the IPTV market
Ericsson, at the GlobalComm trade show here, announced an end-to-end IPTV solution. The offering will make possible a complete range of IPTV services, such as broadcast TV (both standard and high-definition quality), video on-demand, network personal video recording and electronic programming guides.
Ericsson will supply networking products and it will partner with a company called Kasenna to provide the IPTV, software and middleware.
Ericsson is already late to the IPTV market. Other large telecom equipment makers such as Alcatel and Siemens have already forged partnerships and have scored deals with large phone companies. Alcatel is working with Microsoft, and together they are powering large deployments such as AT&T’s new IPTV service and Deutsche Telekom’s IPTV efforts.
Siemens, which bought a small company called Myrio last year, has a complete soup-to-nuts IPTV offering. The company counts more than 75 U.S. regional operators, as well as some overseas carriers, including KPN Royal Dutch Telecom and Belgacom in Europe and Advanced Datanetwork Communications in Thailand, as customers.
Claes Ödman, Vice President, Multimedia Solutions, Ericsson, says: "IPTV is much more than traditional TV broadcast over the IP network – it is about integrating media with communications services to deliver personalized, interactive television no matter where the viewer is."
The end-to-end solution is the first step in Ericsson’s long-term evolution of TV services.
Based on our broadband experience, our standardization efforts and our global IMS leadership, Ericsson has a long-term vision for TV and a migration path to help operators meet the challenge, Ödman says.
So far, Ericsson has not announced customer trials of its IPTV products. But Anders Bergtoft, director of multimedia solutions for Ericsson, said the IPTV market is just getting started. He believes Ericsson has plenty of opportunities to get a slice of the action.
Many carriers around the world are still trialing and testing IPTV solutions, he said. "Scaling these deployments is going to be challenging. We are the largest service integrator, and we know about scalability."
"TV is converging," Bergtoft said. Right now we are seeing mobile operators offer TV on handsets and phone companies delivering TV over IP. Eventually it will all just be TV.
He said that the company’s expertise in wireless will be an added benefit in competing against its telecom rivals. Not only is Ericsson a leading mobile handset maker, but the company also sells infrastructure gear to cellular carriers around the world.
Ericsson’s vision of personalized IPTV services delivered over broadband is based on open standards, including the combination of Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) technologies, for digital entertainment, with the IMS standard for delivering enriched communications services. Ericsson is committed to working with appropriate standardization bodies to achieve economies of scale and interoperability in IPTV reference architecture and interfaces.
The company is working with Sony, a leading developer of consumer electronics standards group (DLNA), which is working to ensure consumer electronics interoperate with each other in the home. Ericsson wants to make sure all DLNA-enabled devices can easily connect to the Ericsson IPTV system.
Ericsson is also a strong proponent of IMS, or IP Multimedia Subsystem, technology, a set of standards developed to make deploying new services on carrier networks easier, faster and more cost effective.
The evolving IPTV service will also offer advantages for end users over traditional broadcast-TV services, because it will allow full personalization and interactivity. IPTV also promises integration of content and communication services, as well as converged services across mobile terminals and home devices. IPTV service providers will benefit with the ability to launch and upgrade service offerings quickly and easily.
Ericsson’s solution provides telecom-grade performance, meets scalability requirements and involves complete life-cycle management. It also includes guidelines for integration with IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) functions, such as charging and end-user authentication, which is unique on the market. It combines its portfolio with key products from world-leading partners.
In its booth at the GlobalComm trade show, Ericsson, along with Sony, is demonstrating its vision of the future of IPTV. The joint demonstration shows how a combination of IMS and DNLA technologies allow consumers to use their mobile phones to wirelessly view digital photos stored in their handsets on a living room TV; use a home gateway for instant messaging between cell phones outside the home and a living room TV; and be able to access the content stored on their home PC via mobile phones.
Ericsson is shaping the future of Mobile and Broadband Internet communications through its continuous technology leadership. Providing innovative solutions in more than 140 countries, Ericsson is helping to create the most powerful communication companies in the world.