I have been giving additional thought to IPTV lately – looking at the technology in a broader sense than simply a telco solution for broadcast over twisted pair. IPTV is more than the way the phone companies provide TV using specialized set top boxes; it can also refer to programming delivered through a soft-client solution to a PC and technology to power video-on-demand among other incarnations.

As I have written before, telcos that are trying to simply replicate the analog cable experience over twisted-pair telephone wiring are likely heading toward toward failure.

So where does IPTV work best? How can telcos compete against cable?

Broadcast into typical North American multiple-TV set homes is well suited to cable with its coaxial broadband pipe. On the other hand, a dedicated point-to-point architecture may be better for on-demand business models despite being bandwidth limited.

Will IPTV be the right solution for business communications? On demand programming? Podcasts or delivery of campus course-ware? How do intelligent cross-device services (including mobile TV, high speed internet, large screen, etc.) get seamlessly delivered?

We’re working on sessions for The 2008 Canadian Telecom Summit. What would you like to see?

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Update [October 29, 8:20 am]
Brian Gordon pointed me to a relevant story in Light Reading entitled Telcos: IPTV needs FTTH. The story comes out of last week’s Telco TV 2007 conference in Atlanta.

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IPTV

Michael Geist’s column in the Toronto Star this week takes a critical look at the CRTC’s process to implement the telemarketing Do Not Call List.

… the do-not-call list process has degenerated into a farce. Having absolved itself of responsibility, the CRTC may now be ready to hand over the operation of the list to Canada’s telecom companies, who will collect a steady stream of revenue from thousands of Canadian businesses.

I have written extensively on the subject, including mentioned that the CRTC’s proposal will also require school clubs, scouting troops and neighbourhood teams to register with the phone cops. I won’t add anything more, other than a link to a catalog of my earlier articles on the subject.

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CRTC, Michael Geist, DNCL

It is that time of year again.

If you are a regular reader on the web version of this blog, you have probably already noticed the banner ads telling you to hold the dates: June 16-18, 2008 for The 2008 Canadian Telecom Summit in Toronto.

We are once again preparing the preeminent forum for leaders of the global telecom industry to meet, exchange views, share ideas and plan for the future of telecommunications in Canada.

The speaker list is building up and we have already confirmed:

• Martha Béjar, Corporate Vice President, Communications Sector, Microsoft
• Pierre Blouin, CEO, MTS Allstream
• Robert Dépatie, CEO, Videotron
• Konrad von Finckenstein, Chair, CRTC
• Mark Henderson, CEO, Ericsson Canada
• Terry Matthews, Chair, Mitel
• Michael Moskowitz, President Americas International, Palm
• Sheridan Scott, Commissioner of Competition, Competition Bureau

The September 10 issue of Canadian Business magazine carried a description of the special session looking at the AWS spectrum consultation that we hosted on the last day of The 2007 Canadian Telecom Summit:

It’s the kind of firecracker debate attendees have come to expect of this annual conference — part schmooze-fest, part WWE SmackDown — that gives power brokers from the telecommunications industry a rare opportunity to grab face time with one another and exchange views.

The star “wrestlers” from last year’s regulatory and policy panel have also confirmed their attendance. You should also be planning to be there.

We have already begun to receive registrations. Book your place early.

The 2008 Canadian Telecom Summit. June 16-18, 2008.

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Canadian Telecom Summit

For a while there have been dual-SIM phones available from small manufacturers in China.

Now, for the first time a major handset manufacturer, Samsung, recently announced the launch of a dual-SIM device to address the common phenomenon in Europe of people carrying more than one cell phone.

I have been talking about the impact of this kind of distortion in comparing market penetration rates between countries. The multi-SIM issue has led to some silly assertions from some quarters and feelings of inadequacies regarding communications services in Canada.

Samsung’s product launch provides additional validation of the number of people that carry dual SIMs.

With more Canadians heading south thanks to a stronger dollar, maybe more of us will begin to carry a US SIM, leading to demand for this device here as well.

Last Friday’s University of Waterloo’s Daily Bulletin announced that the Media and Mobility Network Project (MMNP), described here a few weeks ago, has launched its IPTV technology trial.

The IPTV technology is being provided by Inuk Networks, a Terry Matthews company based in the UK.

“It’s full-screen, broadcast-quality television,” says Sean Van Koughnett, director of UW Graphics and the project manager of an initiative to bring electronic innovations to the residences and eventually the rest of the campus.

“It’s called the Media and Mobility Network Project,” Van Koughnett said, “but it’s really a bunch of projects under one umbrella.” The Internet television is one part of MMNP, a small-scale introduction of Voice over Internet Protocol telephone service to residence rooms is another part, and some cellphone projects are on the horizon, he said.

The MMNP project includes plans to bring savings to UW residences which are all currently equipped with landline phones. Considering that students are equipped with cellphones and use a variety of VOIP services such as Skype, the project is looking at a plan to get rid of the POTS lines.

Over the long term, the Bulletin says that MMNP’s vision is to develop a service that enables students “to talk, text and surf wherever they are on campus for much less than what they currently have to pay.”

Incidentally, Terry Matthews will be a keynote speaker at The 2008 Canadian Telecom Summit next June. I’ll have more information about our speakers in the next day or so.

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Update [November 1, 2:20 pm]
There is a story about the MMNP project in the University of Waterloo student paper The Imprint.